“If School Allowed It, I Would Have Flogged Your Child…”
“If not that the school said we shouldn’t flog, I would have punished your child…”
Pause.
Because that one sentence is not just a complaint.
It is a window.
Into the teacher’s mind.
Into the school system.
Into what many classrooms are quietly dealing with.
What is really going on here?
Many teachers were trained in environments where flogging was normal.
So for them, discipline and flogging are closely linked.
Take flogging away, and suddenly, they feel like something is missing.
Like:
“How do I control this class now?”
So when a teacher says something like this, what you are really hearing is:
“I don’t know what else to do.”
Now, let’s add the full picture
This teacher is:
new in the school
not up to two weeks
joined in the third term
That is pressure!
The third term is not the time to be finding your feet. Everything is fast. Expectations are high.
So what happens?
When people are under pressure, they fall back on what they already know.
And for many, that is punishment first, understanding later.
But why write it to a parent?
This is where the concern is.
It is one thing to feel frustrated.
It is another thing to write it in a communication book.
That book is meant to:
build trust
support communication
help both sides work together
But that statement sends a different message.
To the parent, it can sound like:
“If I had my way, your child would have suffered.”
Even if that was not the intention.
Dear School Owner
Let’s pause here.
You have said:
“No flogging.”
That is good.
But let’s ask the real question:
What did you replace it with?
Did you:
train your teachers on behaviour management?
How to guide them on how to handle difficult learners?
Support new teachers before putting them fully in charge?
Because removing flogging without training teachers is not transformation.
It is confusing.
And confused teachers will fall back on old habits.
Sometimes in action.
Sometimes in words.
Let’s not forget the child
Children are very sensitive.
They may not explain it well, but they can feel:
tension
anger
rejection
A child who feels like a burden in the classroom will not learn well.
They may obey.
But they will withdraw.
And when a child begins to withdraw, learning drops.
Dear Teachers,
It is okay to feel overwhelmed, but how you express it matters.
Writing emotional statements to parents can damage trust.
If one method is removed, you must learn another.
Discipline is not just about stopping behaviour, it is about guiding the child.
Your tone, your words, and your actions shape how children experience your classroom.
Dear Parents,
Sometimes, what you see is not just your child’s behaviour, but a teacher struggling without support.
Communication from school reveals more than information, it reveals mindset.
When something feels off, ask questions calmly and seek understanding.
Your child’s emotional safety in school matters just as much as academics.
Dear School Owner (Again)
Let’s come back to you.
Because this starts and ends with leadership.
If you want classrooms without flogging, then you must build classrooms with:
structure
training
support
guidance
Because telling teachers what not to do is not enough.
You must show them what to do instead.
🤔🤔🤔
When a teacher says:
“If school allowed it, I would have flogged your child…”
What they are really saying is:
“I have not yet learnt another way.”
That is not just a personal issue.
It is a system issue.
☘️
On a final note...
This is not about blaming one teacher.
It is about recognising a gap.
A gap between:
old methods
and new expectations
If we do not fill that gap with training and support, it will show.
In classrooms.
In relationships.
And sometimes… in what gets written in a child’s book.
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