By S. RAMA SAMY

I REFER to your report "Teacher bruised my son's back, alleges dad" (NST, March 14) and I am depressed to note that another teacher has inflicted pain on a child.

Children are naturally mischievous and they should be handled with care and tact.

If a teacher loses his composure and inflicts injuries on students, he should be counselled by experts.

Teachers are the best guards of and guides to students. They are the nearest and dearest to the students in school.

Teachers must always remember what Plato said: "Those having torches will pass them on to others." They must also remember what Rabindranath Tagore said: "I do not love him because he is good, but because he is my little child."

If teachers display a violent disposition, students will follow likewise.

As it is, we are swamped with reports of seniors assaulting their juniors. These students are not deviants. All they need is love and guidance.

All children must be taught what Isaac Watts said against quarrelling and fighting: "Children, you should never let/ Such angry passion rise;/ Your little hands were never made/ To tear each other's eyes."