ERP Question 4. a)

“Ring ring…” a bunch of door chimes tinkled as I pushed the door open and entered the staff room. Walking down the long corridor, I came to a stop in front of the discipline master’s office.

Knocking upon the door, I heard the devil grunting “Enter!” I trudged slowly into the darkened office, and came face to face with the discipline master for the umpteenth time. Today, I had been caught cheating in an examination, and was promptly sent for disciplinary action. The discipline master bore down on me with his deep-set eyes, contemplating what to do. The man had a reputation of instilling fear in pupils, and I was all too familiar with it.

I stared boldly back, defiant in the face of punishment. The many trips to this office had hardened me and punishment no longer scared me or did me any good. I became angrier with each session, and never accepted the lessons. To me, punishment served no purpose and was useless. Over the years, I had become increasingly rascally and this had led to sliding grades.

At this moment, a teacher entered the room, ushering in a primary six boy. She murmured something about the boy cheating in the examinations, and exited. “I shall deal with you later”, the discipline master remarked sharply, turning his attention to the new-comer. He strode up to him, and gave a long, hard, stare. The boy seemed to have adopted an indifferent attitude.

The discipline master interrogated the boy, firing a plethora of questions. The whole office was still, and time seemed to have frozen. The man’s demanding voice created an aura of authority and danger about him. Above me, the periodic, near-silent “whir” of the air-conditioner amplified the tense atmosphere. The man, eyes blazing, reprimanded the boy, who stubbornly refused to give in.

Inside my heart, I was egging the boy on: “Do not fear the cruel man; you must not give in!” Finally, the boy’s unrepentant manner turned the man off. Eyes still fixed on him; he retrieved the dreadful torture weapon, a rattan cane. With deft flicks of his hand, he dealt several blows to the boy. The boy howled with pain, and begged the discipline master to stop. Seeing a change in attitude, the discipline master sat down with the boy, and surprisingly, talked to him in a gentle, concerned, tone.

At that particular moment, I could see care and kindness in the man’s eyes. It suddenly dawned upon me that the discipline master truly wanted the boy to accept the punishment and its lessons, and turn over a new leaf. In the end, the boy, still snivelling softly, was given an encouraging pat on the back, and sent back to class.

That day, I too was subjected to the rattan cane’s wrath. However, I left the office with a different attitude, one of acceptance rather than resentment. I realized that punishment was dished out for a purpose. Punishment serves as a teacher; it is a process of reflection for our wrongdoings. We should learn from it, and never make the same mistakes again. The person who “prescribes” it has no intention of harming us, but instead wishes to patch up the flaws in our character. The punisher always hopes for the punished to recognize this purpose, and from there, make a conscientious effort to change for the better. Witnessing the punishment of the boy, I understood this purpose for the first time. Indeed, this session has made me think deeply about punishment’s purpose. From now on, I decided to accept whatever lessons it taught me, and become a better person.