\n<\/p>\n
Yet, schools cannot do this work in isolation.<\/p>\n
Teachers are already stretched, making difficult judgement calls in real time, often without the full picture and under scrutiny whichever way they decide. They are managing relationships, emotions and expectations from students, parents and the wider community. If we want schools and teachers to handle bullying well, we have to give them time, training and trust.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, consequences in school paired with parental denial will not produce change. Both prevention and response begin at home.<\/p>\n
Children learn how to treat others before they enter school. They learn from how adults speak, handle conflict and set boundaries. If we expect schools to teach this, we are asking too much.<\/p>\n
Similarly, when a child is disciplined at school, the work does not end there. Caregivers need to carry it home through difficult conversations, honest reflection, and sometimes professional help.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, what children need is to know that harming others carries real consequence. They need those consequences to be firm, fair, and not humiliating. They need adults who will hold them accountable and still believe they can change, and they need those adults to work together.<\/p>\n
Caning is perhaps one way but not the end of teaching a child. It is not even the most important part of the conversation. What matters more is what comes after, who walks alongside the child and whether the lesson becomes one of fear or one of growth.<\/p>\n
If we get that right, we are not just stopping behaviour. We are shaping who these young people become, long after they leave the school gates.<\/p>\n