Reconsidering the use of violence as a disciplinary tool

At Form 2, my teacher was a burly Indian man, likely in his 30s. I was 14. We sat in neat rows of two. Behind me, was a boy, at least two years older than me. He liked making the class laugh. On that day, we were solving a Maths problem, and there was utter silence. Minds were at work. Our teacher was sitting at his desk, waiting for allocated time to expire.

He sported a dark moustache, that reminded me of the chinese Kung Fu masters I had seen in the films at the village cinema. The boys joked, the moustache made him look like a cat.

Something happened, that would make me hate Maths for years. Concealed behind me, the lad, released a loud, “meeeewwwww”, in imitation of a cat. The teacher picked it. When he advanced in my direction, I could not have known what was to follow. I was, by all counts, an unlikely culprit. A graduate of my mothers university of good manners, I was well behaved. The only vice I ever had, was holding my ground in argument. And I did it, with respect.

Editor's Comment
Molepolole unrest: Urgent attention on missing person cases

From Jakoba's mysterious disappearance on November 9 to the grim discovery of his remains at Mosinki Lands, a gap in the response mechanisms of the police and village leadership has been laid bare. The community's anger is evident, seen in the attack on Bakang Masole, the man found driving Jakoba's taxi and the main suspect, and the subsequent riot. Residents express discontent, citing a troubling trend of missing persons cases often...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up