Read the Case Study “Maltreatment in class room” and answer the

questions given at the end

The teacher, Ms. Ayesha was an interesting figure to me because she

could be very nurturing and motherly at times, putting an arm around a child
or asking them soothingly to tell her what was wrong (as when Hina began
to cry frequently), but she also made several comments to the kids that I
found derisive. For example, when Hina finished a very carefully colored
cupid and began cutting it out, Ms. Ayesha remarked, “I told you to let me
help you, you’re just going to mess it up now,” and Hina reluctantly let her
cut it out for her. I found this cut into Hina’s self-esteem, something that was
already clearly low. And there were other hurtful. To Saima who returned
from the dentist with her face too swollen to talk much, Ms. Ayesha said, “I
wish you went to the dentist everyday so you would be this quiet.” In
another instance she jokingly told one of the girls who was deliberately
irritating her “Oh I’m going to hit you! Did you hear me? I’m going to hit
you,” and followed it saying, “You know I’m joking, I wouldn’t hit
you.” This made me feel very uncomfortable because maltreatment is a very
real issue for these kids.

Questions
1. In what way Ms. Ayesha influenced Hina’s self-esteem?
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2. How could the teacher handle the situation in a better way?

4

3. Discuss the role of Ms. Ayesha (significant others) on the issue of

treatment of students?
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