Mr. David LAM has extensive experience in civil and criminal litigation. He has sat on the Labour Tribunal and the Small Claims Tribunal as a Deputy Adjudicator. Owing to his past experiences in several quasi- judicial boards, Mr. Lam is also familiar with administrative law in Hong Kong.

Mr. Lam was appointed Justice of the Peace by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2009, for "outstanding contribution to the community" as described by the then Chief Secretary for Administration.

School Bullying is a major social issue in Hong Kong.  Mr. Lam's legal practice has a special interest in School Bullying, Cyberbullying, Special Needs, and related issues.  In order to achieve a comprehensive solution for his clients,  Mr. Lam works with professionals from a wide spectrum including behaviour analysts, social workers, and education consultants. He is also a board governor in an international school in Hong Kong.

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT –

The Man with a Whipping Cane (April 2021)

We could hear him coming. There were five classrooms on each level of the school building, and our classroom was at one end of the corridor. By the time he had walked past the first two classrooms at the other end, we knew he was coming with his whipping cane. He would be whipping the rattan-made stick against his own body with enough force to enable students as far as our classroom to be able to hear he was coming, and yet he would not have hurt himself. Perhaps it was the clerical gown he was wearing, in a loose and floppy fit, that had created a buffer which would absorb some of the force he imposed on himself. By the time he reached our classroom, if there had been a problem with any one of us, it would have been a “memorable” day for you. He didn`t have to consult the teacher in the classroom, he would have known that the student who was left standing alone outside the classroom and inside the long and quiet corridor must have done something really wrong. If he was in good mood, you would be spared the cane. Otherwise, you would be bound to regret to have shown such behavior in the classroom minutes ago that had led the teacher to literally kick you out. Who was he? He was our headmaster.

Did the caning work? It might have. But that was decades ago, and corporal punishment was still considered the norm for correcting student behavior.Corporal punishment is now almost unheard of in Hong Kong. It is against the law. Regulation 58 of the Education Regulations says: “No teacher shall administer corporal punishment to a pupil.”1 In a report prepared by the United Nations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child defined corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause som degree of pain or discomfort, however light.”2 It goes on to say that most corporal punishment “involves hitting …children , with the hand or with an implement – a whip, stick, belt …etc.”3 

Let us now talk about Burrhus Frederic Skinner. What has he to do with the caning of students? Maybe so. Skinner would have advocated the opposite to punishment in a school setting. In our university days, Skinner was a “household” name in our psychology classes. The principles and theories of B. F. Skinner were widely read by us as students who were studying psychology. Some of us went on to pursue a doctorate degree, and became psychologists, but I didn`t, with some regret.

Skinner believed in “operant conditioning”, and within this theory, he had two magic words, namely, “punishment” and ‘reinforcement”. “The main difference between the two…is that the effect of punishment involves the suppression of a behavior rather that the strengthening of it as in reinforcement…”4 

Needless to say, our headmaster, with the whipping cane, was looking to “punish” a student who had been misbehaved. “Punishment does not guarantee that a child knows the appropriate behavior to display in the particular situation. Additionally, students who are punished by being sent out of a classroom are actually in a way reinforcing the problem behavior…”5 

In the context of operant conditioning, reinforcement “involves the presentation of a pleasant stimulus or the withdrawal of an unpleasant stimulus as a consequence of behavior…(Reinforcement) increases the probability that a response will occur”6, that is, for example a praise from the teacher.

This well respected psychologist B. F. Skinner has therefore paved the way for the development of Positive Behavior Support. “It has … been realized that in order to most effectively deal with problem behaviors, children need to be taught how to act and the appropriate way to act, rather than simply confirming and pointing out that they are behaving badly and punishing them for doing so.”7. “In recent years, many schools have been moving towards employing more positive means of dealing with problem behavior through the use of positive behavior support, after it has been shown that punishment, which had commonly been used as the most widely used technique of dealing with problem behaviors, may actually do more harm than good.”8. 

My memory also brings me back to some decades ago when I saw my uncle punishing a student in a school. My uncle created this school on Hong Kong island. He had a passion to become a good educator, and had hired some of the best teachers in town. Although there was already a headmaster, my uncle assumed a supervisory role in the management of the school. You could easily see my uncle`s office, because he didn`t want to hide himself in a big and cozy room, he tore down a wall and replaced it with a huge piece of glass. The effect was that my uncle would see things outside his office, and most importantly everyone was able to see him caning any student of having unwelcome behavior.

In North America, behavior scientists call the student`s visit to my uncle`s office as an Office Discipline Referral or simply “ODR”. It is arguable that physical punishment would have any long-lasting deterrence effect. What I know is that even now the punishment which I witnessed is still vividly clear in my memory. I saw my uncle raising his hand about a foot high and then whipping the cane onto the student`s palm. Shucks, it must have been painful, and I can imagine that the punishment did give the student something that he did not forget for many years.

In order to sum up my advocacy for positive behavior support, it`s been said that “positive behavior support programs provide an alternative to the use of punishing methods such as suspension and expulsion.”9 “Additionally, what is unique about positive behavior support programs is that they do not focus solely on those individuals with problem behaviors, but rather focus on the entire school climate and allow schools to examine why problems are occurring on a larger scale.”10

David Tai-Wai Lam, JP

(Uncle David)

References:

1 Laws of Hong Kong, Education Regulations, Cap. 279

2 to 3 United Nations` Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2008

4 to 10 kristinhricko.weekly.com (Skinner`s Theory of Operant Conditioning as seen Through Positive Behavior Support)

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT –

The boy who climbed out of the window (June, 2021)

One day, I was driving near a school. It was a red light, so the car stopped. What I was about to see on my right side made my heart pumping. I saw a young boy at the age of about 10 having climbed out of a classroom. He was standing on a stretch of concrete, holding onto the exterior part of the classroom window, and with his back facing the ground three storeys below. About half a dozen of students appeared in the windows, some trying to grab hold of him, and some shouting “don`t do it, don`t do it”.

Where was the teacher? Has the teacher gone for help? Probably so, because the police had not arrived, nor had the ambulance. I couldn`t have done anything to help, I was not within the school compound. Even if I was at the school building, I wouldn`t have known how to handle such serious situation. Owing to the traffic conditions at that time, my only choice was to drive away when the lights turned green. I didn`t feel good for the rest of the day, until I heard no news about the incident, then I realized the student was alright.

What has triggered the event? Was there a bullying incident that had taken place? Was there someone else in the class whose behavior had caused the student to almost loose his life, or to suffer a major injury. It didn`t look like the student had planned the incident, it looked like it was out of impulse. Something must have been happened inside the classroom. I don`t think the teacher had anything to do with it because if the teacher was there, he or she would have prevented the student to climb out of the classroom.

Bullying is defined as “aggressive behavior intended to hurt another individual, physically, mentally, or emotionally.”1 The boy didn`t look like he was being beaten at all. He looked scared, he was trying to escape from something. There was no other way for him to go, except out of the window, not even through the classroom door. But this could be all speculation from me. There might be another reason for the boy to have climbed out of the classroom.

Assuming there was a bullying incident, the methodology of Positive Behavior Support would help both the “bully” and the “victim”. The behavior issues of the “bully” would be addressed, and the ways for the “victim” to confront a bully would be taught. “Positive Behavior Support not only solves the problem in a dramatic moment but also prevents the moment, teaches skills to redirect the moment, defuses the moment, prevents the moment from repeating ...”2

Having studied the subject of bullying in school for a while, I venture to say that a bullying incident is not only an individual problem involving the “bully” that is the person who asserts the aggression against the other person, it can be argued that it is also the problem of the school.

By promoting the proper school culture, and by creating the proper classroom environment, it will promote positive behavior among students. “Building meaningful and genuine relationships with and among your students is an essential aspect of creating a learning environment that supports their learning and promotes their positive classroom behavior...”3 

It is easy to adopt a policy, but implementation requires the school`s commitment and the support of the staff. I remember when we were students in secondary school, we were given the choice to join different interest groups; we had the Boy Scouts, Astronomy Club, Camera Club, Soccer, etc. Each interest group was headed by a teacher. It was in those extra-curricular activities outside the classroom setting where students were given an opportunity to talk to our teachers, share the interest in the subject with the teachers, and let the teachers know them better, and ultimately there was some sort of bonding between the students and the teachers. As I had a great interest in photography, I did gain the respect from some of the teachers which boosted my morale.

It is understandable that teachers in certain schools may have a busy agenda, trying to meet the school`s curriculum and convey the learning materials to the  students, thereby there can hardly be any time left within the classroom to build any meaningful relations with their students. Hence, if extra-curricular activities are available, better relations between teachers and students can be achieved.

Once there is trust in the teachers, students will become more motivated to learn when the setting is changed back to the classroom.

You will find the school`s vision and mission on some of the school websites.

Accompanied with the vision and mission, there would be pictures showing the school`s beautiful campus and the enthusiastic teachers with highly motivated students by their side. An example of the vision and mission would be:

“Our school will foster an environment to nurture individuals academically, socially, and emotionally so that they are equipped to tackle academic challenges and become productive members of society.”4

Having a team of teachers supporting the school in creating the right learning environment should increase the students` interests in studying and reduce the opportunity of unwanted behavior of students like bullying. Hopefully, with a systematic framework like Positive Behavior Support in place, or any other methodology which works, schools can achieve their vision and mission, parents will be pleased, and most importantly students will be equipped to face different challenges in life.

David Tai-Wai Lam, JP

(Uncle David)

References:

1 Wikipedia

2 Positive practice framework, A guide for behaviour support practitioners, Health and Human Services, Victoria State Government.

3 Creating a Classroom Environment That Promotes Positive Behavior, pearsonhighered.com

4 79 Examples of School Vision and Mission Statements, Chris Drew PhD, helpfulprofessor.com.