Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether schools should make community service mandatory, and cast your vote by the end of March 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our February 2017 poll was about whether schools should punish students:

Schools should not punish students in order to maintain discipline. Punishment simply perpetuates abuse and little is achieved in terms of discipline.

• I agree. Positive guidance works better to teach students right from wrong. (87%, 41 Votes)

• I disagree. When you don’t punish students you encourage unruly behavior. With certain disciplinary issues, punishment is the only thing that works. (13%, 6 Votes)

Result:
An overwhelming majority of respondents (87%) believe that positive guidance is a better way to teach students right and wrong. They believe that punishment perpetuates abuse and that in the end penalizing children doesn’t achieve anything. A small minority of respondents (13%) believe that not using punishment encourages children to misbehave and sometimes reprimanding and penalising them is the only thing that seems to work.