Corporal punishment and discipline through the use of violence are inherently wrong and unacceptable within many Western countries. However, is corporal punishment really unethical in nations where discipline through the use of coerciveness has become a social norm? For generations, Vietnam has incorporated a lot of disciplinary acts into both parental care and the educational system. Even nowadays, many parents and teachers agree that they need to teach their children discipline and respect. According to Mr. Tran at University of Colorado’s International Journal of Multicultural Studies Journal, Western’s philosophy in education cannot be applied to that of Vietnamese because discipline is a part of the culture, and it is completely different from child abuse (Tran). However, it has been a decade since this article is written and the line between discipline and child abuse has become blurry as the entire educational system in Vietnam is shifting away from the traditional coercive methods that toward a more westernized and “civilized” version of education.
Still, while this shift is taking place, there are still many conservative parents and teachers insist that such shift would change or destroy the traditional value of Vietnamese culture as it would induce rebellion behaviors among the youth. In fact, Rydstorm shows us that “during two periods of fieldwork (1994–5 and 2000–1) in the northern rural Vietnamese commune of Thinh Tri, … violence not only pervades the history of the whole of Vietnam but even contemporary social life” (Rydstorm 329). Rydstorm reflects on how corporal punishment is already a part of the culture that should not be taken away, that “men’s physical discipline of their sons or grandsons is entwined with men’s imagining of masculine representation” (343). However, are this core belief in Vietnamese rural area truly defenses the use of corporal punishment? While it is unarguable that violence has been presence throughout Vietnamese history and discipline is an important value for Vietnamese to uphold, it is doubtful that violent forms of discipline and corporal punishment is the only answers to get to that end. Especially in the 21st century, with the emergence of the globalized economy and pop culture, students and educators are taking a step forward by comparing and contrasting the educational and nurturing system of Vietnam to those of Western countries.
Such paradigm shift influences Ho Chi Minh City the most because it is the center of commerce and trading. In recent years, there have been many activists, especially parents and educators, raising questions about the effectiveness of corporal punishment in disciplining the children. According to Vietnam News, many Westerners raise their opinions on the same issue, undermining the use of violence while emphasizing the need of strict disciplinary action (VietNamNews). Indeed, especially in a culture where coerciveness and fear are already widely used, creating a strict and discipline society without using punishment is a hard feat. However, between 2014 and 2015, as many as 40 primary and lower secondary schools in HCM City, covering up to 12,000 students, involved in a campaign against corporal punishment in support for a friendlier environment (SavetheChildren). This campaign asked many Vietnamese parents and teachers to speak their opinions on how the educational system should be by signing the “commitment of ending any physical and psychological punishment against children at home or in school” (SavetheChildren). In the popular Vietnamese news channel, HTV, many educators advocate for a friendlier environment where teachers show more compassion, patience, and understanding toward the students (Youtube). They believe that such environment will not only help the students to absorb the knowledge more efficiently, but also teach them how to act in a more disciplinary way. Without doubt, Western’s ideology did influence Vietnamese views on education, but the question is how did it become influential?
First and foremost, there has been a transitional stage toward a socialist-oriented market economy after the economic renovation, Doi Moi. This reform recognized the role of private sector in the economy as it allows foreign trade and investment (Vuong). Such changes are inevitable for the country’s economy to make progress. However, during this diplomatic and economic shifts, there has been unaccounted factors that impact Vietnamese traditional and cultural values such as advertisements of Western products, an influx of Western brands’ restaurants, and the emergence of Pop cultures (Byrnes). These impacts are vividly demonstrated by an increasing number of people praising Western products and foods as having better quality and values. Still, this is only one of the factors that make Western ideology influential. As free trade proceeds, so is globalization. Thus, social media and the internet start to spread throughout the country, jeopardizing the government’s suppression of speech and raising awareness of the state of the country (Freedomhouse). Criticism of the educational system is no exception as the former education minister Pham Minh Hac said, “University education is so bad. Text books are full of unnecessary, tedious theory” (AFP News). Other educators in Vietnam also criticize that Vietnamese educational system suppress the student’s critical thinking ability and replace it with rote memorization courses (Banyan). With the aid of technology and social media, citizens have become informed of how suppressive and ineffective the educational system is. Such awareness combining with a growing economy results in an increase number of Vietnamese parents sending their children abroad in hope for a better education as well as a better future. According to ICEF Monitor, there has been an exodus of Vietnamese students coming to the United States in 2013, “a 15% increase over 2012 and the largest year-over-jump since 2008-2009” (ICEF). This influx of students travelling abroad results in an increase globally minded people, who are influenced by Western’s ideology as they adapt to a foreign community. Such adaptation by results in an increased criticism posts by boarding students on education in social media and news. It is a positive feedback loop that pushes a societal change in the educational policies, including corporal punishment.
This brings forth the second element that aided this shift, social media and the internet. As mentioned, social media contributes toward raising public’s awareness of the contemporary society and the educational system in Vietnam. However, increasing public awareness is only one aspect that social media brings forth. In fact, social media and news have the ability to blur the line between discipline and child abuse by distorting words and inducing fear, dehumanizing the use of corporal punishment in both families and schools. In many internet and news sources, inhuman disciplinary acts are usually depicted. For example, on Thanh Nien, one of the Vietnamese most popular news, there are multiple posts every month on how students are badly beaten by teachers or parents for having bad disciplines, being disobedient, or even being late (Ai Le). Such distorted images and videos raised the public awareness on the use of corporal punishment. Still, the group that is most influenced by these media are students and teenagers themselves, who mostly had the first-hand experience with corporal punishment and spanking. In fact, these news pages target these age groups as most of the news was written by younger authors who were bore in the most recent generation. Thus, there is a disparity of beliefs between the older generation and the newer generation on the issue of using violence. This disparity is further separated as the youth are more digital natives, resulting in a boarder world view on the issue.
Finally, the prevalence of the social media network and the increase availability of resources inform educators and parents of the inherent danger of corporal punishment. The current mindset of most Vietnamese, even students, is that corporal punishment improves children’s discipline and their academic performances. According to 2010-2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey funded by UNICEF:
Three in four children in Viet Nam are disciplined through violent means. The exposure of Vietnamese children to violent forms of discipline was significantly associated with varied characteristics of both children and their caregivers. Moreover, the use of violent disciplinary practices on children was strongly associated with positive attitudes toward corporal punishment (Claudia).
However, statistic shows otherwise, corporal punishment does not teach students discipline. Before examining how corporal punishment affects children’s behaviors, it is essential to look at the contemporary Vietnamese youth’s culture as a whole. In recent years, poly-victimization and bully are apparent problems in Vietnam, especially in lower and higher secondary schools.
Table 1: Victimization characteristics of different demographic groups among 1,606 high school students in Vietnam.
The table shows a high percentage of students involving in some kind of victimization with “nearly a third having experienced more than ten forms of victimization” (Minh). In a way, victimizing others has assimilated into the culture. The use of humiliation and offensive language appears in many schools and the social media network as numerous videos of cursing and fighting between Vietnamese students are post online (TuoiTre). Such violence poses threat to the overall quality of education in Vietnam as many educators stated. According to Harmony Linder, an American education counselor has worked for almost two years in Vietnam, “a protective, nurturing environment among students and paying due attention to school psychological counseling can be key to curbing school violence in Vietnam” (TuoiTre). It is hard to agree that violence through corporal punishment would solve these problems. Moreover, UNICEF’s findings in Vietnam show a negative correlation between corporal punishment and test scores, “at age 8 corporal punishment is negatively associated with children’s math scores, in all four countries, even after controlling for a range of child and household characteristics and when comparing children in the same community” (Jones). These acknowledgments of evident violence in school made educators reconsider the use of punishment in education. In 2004, the government took action as they enact the Law of Care, Protection and Education of Children, banning child maltreatment and violence against children (Minh). This was the first step toward changing the use of punishment in education, however, “there has not been mandatory reporting of these actions in Vietnam and many children and adolescents are still being abused or victimized” (Minh).
In general, the use of corporal punishment is closely related to many forms of victimization and violence, and a shift from a physical discipline based environment toward a friendlier environment can solve such problem. Such changes will take place over a longer period of time as banning the use of corporal punishment is taking away part of the culture itself. Moreover, this process is closely intertwined with many other aspects in education, such as re-training teachers to support the use of non-violence or positive methods of discipline, and enforcing the presented legislation (Jones). Moreover, during this process, it is imperative not to impose a stigma upon parents and teachers who used violence and corporal punishments in education.
<How can this shift affect the society>
<influence the economy>
I, personally, believe that such paradigm shifts in learning environment will not only brings forth a friendlier and better educational system, but also brings forth more fundamental cultural and behavior changes within the society.
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