Arriving home rather late, one day last week, I noticed that my
nursery school going twin boys, Baker amd Bill, were anxiously
waiting for me. After opening the narrow gate for me, one of
them, Baker, took my handbag and took it to my bedroom Before I
had rested my aching muscles, Baker retorted “Grandpa, Grandma
says you are going to beat up mada (madam) tomorrow because he
slapped me on the chick today. Are you going to do so?”. ‘Why
did madam slap you?’ I enquired. ‘It is because I was shouting,”
he confessed “True, he was beaten up: not only him, but also
several others”, joined his twin brother, Bill. The twins then
quickly dispersed, probably to convey the message to grandma to
the effect that grandpa had received the urgent memorandum. That
the boy was actually punished for shouting in the class is
unquestionable. But considering that the boys had not complained
earlier on a similar case, it is surely clear that the twins
found it strange. Slapping and canning by teachers, a practice
also common place