I was Caned in School: As a Teacher, should I not Cane too?

I remember when I was in school in the eighties, the cane was the trademark of any 'proper' school. In other words, cane and school were twin brothers. When I was in Standard Four, for instance, my Mathematics teacher used to 'burst' into class, a nyahunyo (Maasai whip made from car tyres) dangling under his arm and he would menacingly blurt:

"Stand up...Tables!"

By this he meant that we were to start reciting the Mathematical multiplication tables. Anyone showing signs of not knowing what was going on would be descended upon by his whip.

I was a victim of the swish of his whip almost everyday: numbers and mathematical signs were like Greek to me. We got used to such treatment and never at one time thought that our rights (what were children's rights in those days – they were gathering dust in the United Nations books – or were they?) were being infringed.

When I was in Standard Eight, my English teacher decided that using the cane was a thing of the past and instead resorted to using his fists and legs. He would get into the classroom (the sight of him would send chills of terror down our spines) and we would stand in unison. Our greeting to him would reverberate throughout the block:

"Good Morning Mr. Mbugua."

He would look at us as if we had insulted him and, with the ferocity of a bull, he would come towards us.

For no reason at all, he would rain blow upon blow on our small forms (especially around our stomachs) and no one would dare cry out for fear of stoking his latent fury. All that was in the name of corporal punishment. In retrospect, that was terrorism!

Sometimes I doubt whether some of that was punishment to rectify behaviour or an avenue for someone to vent his/her pent up heartaches on young, innocent and undeserving pupils.

Fast Forward

As a teacher, now, I am confused when people say that teachers should not cane. This is the kind of discipline we grew new up on. It instilled “discipline” (really?!) in us.

A teacher’s world is a confused world. Someone please do help me.