Sunday Series 3: When Strictness Dies
Sunday Series: Part 3 - When Strictness Dies
A Teacher’s Unspoken Turning Point
Opening: The Day Something Breaks
Every teacher enters the profession with two invisible tools:
Hope and authority.
Hope that students will understand.
Authority to guide them when they don’t.
But there comes a day - silent, sudden, irreversible -
when authority does not fail publicly,
it dies privately.
Not because the teacher was wrong.
Not because discipline was unjust.
But because power stepped in where pedagogy once lived.
This is the story of that day.
And it is not one teacher’s story.
It belongs to many.
The Incident: Discipline Meets Power
She was an honest, soft-spoken, committed teacher.
The kind who stayed back after class,
the kind who corrected notebooks with care,
the kind who believed discipline was protection, not punishment.
One day, a highly mischievous boy — Arun (name changed) — crossed limits repeatedly.
Warnings failed.
Counselling failed.
Patience thinned.
In a moment familiar to generations of classrooms,
she lightly tapped his palm with a wooden scale.
No rage.
No cruelty.
Only correction.
The child went home crying —
not from pain, but from embarrassment.
At home, the story changed.
His father was an advocate.
The boy said his finger wasn’t moving.
The advocate rushed him to an orthopaedic doctor.
An X-ray was done.
Nothing was found.
Still, a temporary plaster was applied.
Not for healing.
For intimidation.
Public Humiliation: Where Authority Is Killed
The next day, the teacher was summoned.
She was made to apologise:
• to the child
• to the parents
• to the principal
Not privately.
Publicly.
In that moment, the lesson shifted.
Not for the child.
For the teacher.
She learnt that truth has limits.
That intention doesn’t matter when power speaks.
That discipline is permitted only until someone influential objects.
She went home.
And collapsed inside.
She locked herself indoors for months.
Lost confidence.
Lost her voice.
Lost the courage to raise her tone again.
A strict teacher didn’t reform that day.
She ended.
The Child’s Realisation: When Conscience Awakens
Time passed.
One night, Arun had a disturbing dream.
He saw his teacher weeping.
He woke up shouting,
“Papa, I want to apologise. I want her back in school.”
For the first time, fear gave way to conscience.
The same advocate father now stood humbled.
He approached the management.
He admitted excess.
He requested reinstatement - with respect.
The teacher was called back.
She returned.
But something fundamental had changed.
When She Returned: The Changed Teacher
She survived by being lenient.
Not by choice — by necessity.
She taught gently.
Never raised her voice.
Never enforced fear.
Students liked her.
Management felt safe.
Parents felt comfortable.
But the strictness that once protected children
never returned.
It died that day.
And this is the quiet truth no policy document records:
When a teacher is publicly humiliated,
the classroom loses its spine forever.
Reflection: Why Strictness Dies
Strictness doesn’t die because teachers become lazy.
It dies because:
• Correction is mistaken for cruelty.
• Authority is mistaken for ego.
• Discipline is mistaken for trauma.
• Parents defend behaviour instead of values.
• Institutions choose peace over principles.
A teacher learns the safest rule:
“Say less. Correct less. Risk nothing.”
Leniency becomes survival.
Silence becomes armour.
What This Does to Education
Students don’t learn limits -
they learn leverage.
Parents don’t learn trust -
they learn threat.
Teachers don’t stop caring -
they stop intervening.
And society quietly loses something precious:
The courage of a good teacher.
From the Desk of the Author
I write this not in anger,
but in recognition.
I have seen teachers break.
I have seen strictness die.
I have seen conscience arrive late - sometimes too late.
If this reflection makes even one parent pause,
one student introspect,
one teacher feel less alone -
then this story has served its purpose.
A Question for Reflection
To Teachers:
What moment softened you forever?
To Parents:
Are you protecting your child - or avoiding discomfort?
To Students:
Will you understand your teacher’s pain only after time teaches you?
Disclaimer
This article is based on real-life educational experiences and reflective observations.
Names, identities, and certain details have been changed to protect privacy.
Any resemblance to specific individuals or institutions is purely coincidental.
The intent is not to accuse, but to introspect and humanise the teaching profession.
Coming Next — Part 4
When Fear Replaces Feedback
(How complaints, ratings, and power quietly reshape classrooms)
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With heartfelt regards,
— Rakesh Kushwaha
Educator | Writer | Observer of Life’s Mathematics
Really a fact of today due to which the other learners are also not reaching to their best.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this honest observation. Yes, when discipline and accountability weaken, it doesn’t affect just one learner — it silently limits the growth of many others as well. Your reflection truly captures a reality educators witness every day. Grateful for your thoughtful response. 🙏🏻
DeleteToday, teachers stand helpless in disciplining students—not due to lack of intent, values, or commitment, but because of flawed government policies and biased school leadership.
ReplyDeleteRules exist only on paper. Authority has been reduced to fear—fear of complaints, fear of transfers, fear of harassment. In the name of “child protection,” teachers have been stripped of their rightful space to guide, correct, and discipline with dignity.
When principals function with bias, protecting favourites and silencing sincere educators, discipline collapses and morale dies. Merit is punished, flattery is rewarded, and ethics are sacrificed for convenience and vested interests.
A system where teachers are muted cannot produce responsible citizens.
A classroom without discipline is not progressive—it is directionless.
Respect teachers. Trust their intent. Correct policies before they destroy the very foundation of education.
Thank you for expressing your thoughts so honestly. The situation today is indeed complex, and every stakeholder—teachers, parents, leadership, and policymakers—is navigating a rapidly changing educational environment. Safeguarding students while maintaining discipline, dignity, and trust is a delicate balance that requires collective understanding rather than blame. Meaningful dialogue, mutual respect, and shared responsibility are the way forward to ensure classrooms remain safe, purposeful, and growth-oriented for everyone involved. 🙏🏻
Deleteसच्चाई उगलती लेखनी.....
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. Sometimes simple truth speaks louder than long explanations. Grateful that you felt the honesty in the writing. 🙏🏻
DeleteI feel that nobody is feeling about their teaching learning process. Nobody is thinking of being an expert of their own subject. Everyone is required to be a good teacher in this present time. Leave the administration in the hands of administrators only. Other things will be all right automatically.we are teachers not a speaker.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your perspective. Subject expertise is undoubtedly the backbone of teaching, and no learning can happen without strong command over the subject.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in today’s classrooms, teaching has expanded beyond content delivery alone. A good teacher is now expected to balance subject knowledge with classroom management, emotional awareness, and student engagement — not by choice, but by circumstance.
Administration ideally should remain with administrators, but when classroom realities, parental expectations, and student behaviour directly affect learning, teachers cannot remain unaffected.
This blog does not undermine subject mastery or turn teachers into speakers; it reflects the lived challenges teachers face while trying to protect learning, dignity, and relationships simultaneously.
Respectfully, both expertise and humanity are required today — not as a trend, but as a necessity.
One concern that I have as a working professional in educational field is that regardless of power or ego, each and every person deserves a chance to explain their point of view and the background reason for the same. It becomes important for the management then to observe the situation in a neutral way rather than focusing attention towards other things.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a thoughtful and balanced perspective. You are absolutely right — every individual deserves the dignity of being heard, regardless of position, power, or perception.
DeleteWhen management listens with neutrality and empathy, it not only resolves situations more fairly but also strengthens trust within the institution. Understanding the background and intent behind actions often reveals truths that surface judgments miss.
Your reflection highlights a crucial aspect of healthy educational leadership — fairness guided by understanding rather than assumptions. Grateful for voices like yours that advocate for balance and humanity in the system. 🙏✨