Why caning’s ineffective as a method of disciplining teens

With the recent wave of school unrest, there has been talk of bringing back the cane.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha and his Interior counterpart Fred Matiang’i want us to buy their thinking that sparing the rod “is spoiling the Kenyan child”.

I am afraid the professor and the good doctor seem to be slowly abandoning a key tenet of their academic journeys—research.

Surveys done by psychologists worldwide have affirmed that spanking is a highly counterproductive form of punishment.

In both the short term and long term, experts say, caning does more harm than good.

Yet many parents and guardians ignore this and argue that they are living proof it works.

Some, like Prof Mogoha, are on record as saying they were caned when they were younger and “turned out just fine”.

There are very many negative effects of caning that are ignored simply because, over the years, caning has been widespread in Kenya and Africa.

Just because we are accustomed to a certain way of doing things, it doesn’t mean that it is the right way.

We have seen a recent increase in gender-based violence and other heinous crimes in our homes. Could this be partly linked to caning as a form of discipline?

Research has shown that young people who are caned are more likely to exhibit aggression, criminal conduct and an emotional disconnect with people around them. This can also make them allow acts of aggression such as staying with abusive partners in the future.

Caning sends a silent message that violence is an acceptable reaction to displeasure, annoyance or irritation. Teenagers are very likely to apply what they learn at home and school in real life.

This explains the link between spanked children and increased delinquency. Bringing back the cane in Kenyan high schools can also grant frustrated teachers a chance to take out their frustrations on innocent students.

Incidents of teachers exerting excessive force and even in extreme cases, killing the students, have been reported in the past.

We are all concerned about the madness in our schools.

But the relevant authorities must sit down and critically examine the situation and not jump to hasty solutions that will cause more harm than good in the long run. There are other more effective methods of disciplining high school students that should be looked into.

Michelle, 20, studies at Mount Kenya University.

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