LookAtVietnam – Should teachers and parents be able to beat children who misbehave? Sixty seven percent of Vietnamese people say “yes”.

As a result 1,000 emails have been sent to VietNamNet Editorial with senders expressing their opinions. The majority agree with the old maxim “Spare the rod and spoil the child’.

Readers argued that their children needed the rod to grow up as they did – receiving punishment from their families. Others point out that children nowadays are not as obedient as they were previously and that corporal punishment could be the solution.

Teachers also joined in the debate. Many have been working for many years at schools, like Vu Dinh Van in Nam Dinh City and Nguyen Dang Chung in Hanoi. The two teachers pointed out the difficulties facing teachers.

The both called the rod, traditionally a bamboo cane at Vietnamese schools, necessary.

Other parents wrote they would rather their children received corporal punishment than see them continue to rebel and eventually be expelled.

However, there have been a considerable number of readers, who sent emails to VietNamNet, protesting against corporal punishment.

Ngo Quoc Tuan, born in 1980 in Hanoi, said being caned by either parents or teachers would not make him more obedient.

Pham Duc Thang, a student of Da Nang University of Technology, said rods must not be used by true educators.

It seems there is no relation between the ages of contributors and their viewpoint. For example, one father born in the 70s wrote that he needs to beat his child because he was also educated this way. Meanwhile, another of the same age said: “I have never beaten my children”.

Again, while some young readers accept corporal punishment as a way to encourage learning and good behavior, older readers up to 70 years old, said they had never beaten either their children or grandchildren.

In Asia, the governments of Japan, China, Thailand and Taiwan have banned corporal punishment.

Hong Hanh