Wednesday, August 19, 2009
What Should We Do About Sticking?
An African Childrens Haven Associate recently returned from Africa concerned that teachers in one of the schools we support routinely hit the children. The school’s policy prohibits corporal punishment, but the policy is openly ignored. As we understand it, so-called sticking is mainly confined to a wrap on the hand and is a standard practice across larges parts of the Continent. African Childrens Haven does not have a policy on corporal punishment, but our board will discuss the matter at its September meeting. The question is how far do we go? Should we deny funding to schools where corporal punishment is practiced or should we find a middle ground? Cutting off funding to a school that is otherwise doing a good job seems extreme and would hurt the children. Is there a middle ground? Ideas?
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This might depend on the country you're talking about. For example, in Kenya, corporal punishment is outlawed. Some teachers still routinely hit kids, though, and there have even been deaths. But there is a law, and it isn't just outsiders coming in with other cultural ideas that they are pushing. Action is taken against those teachers, including suits by the parents. So in a country with laws against corporal punishment you'd be on very strong ground to use a little persuasive "muscle" yourselves in terms of speaking with the administration about having the practice stopped. Teacher training would also go a ways to help the issue. This could be a teacher without confidence, or even one with problems of malnourishment, illness, etc., which could be shortening his/her fuse. If this is one teacher in an otherwise non-physical school (or maybe the associate only SAW one incident?) you have a different situation than if the norm is to hit kids.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with this!
I went through some sort of corporal punishment in school and I'm not sure what it did to me. I resented it at the time but I never repeated the acts that made me get punished. However our problems were mild compared to the issues children have to deal with nowadays and the influence of the media and access to their rights is much stronger. They will rebel to corporal punishment and I think it will make them worse. Children in some African countries are caught between 2 worlds and it is not easy to cope. You could suggest other methods of discipline to the schools you support.
ReplyDeleteA news story on CCN.com today pretty much confirms what we already knew. Corporal punishment is bad for kids. No big suprise there. The question remains: how do we support child welfare projects in Africa that are otherwise doing a good job, but "stick their kids." Read more: www.cnn.com/health/09/16/spanking.children.parenting/index.html
ReplyDeleteThe following comment was provided by our friend and colleague Marilyn Schultz:
ReplyDeleteSticking Children
If teachers are physically hurting children it’s probably because it’s what is the norm and the way it’s done at that school. Maybe they can be told that the organization believes that hurting children is wrong, and teaches children to hurt others or their own children when they grow up.
Perhaps taking a positive approach, a small incentive can be offered to the teachers who have refrained for sticking each month, or a contest for teachers to offer suggestions for other teachers on how to discipline children without resorting to corporal punishment, such as withholding a small reward or treat or denying a child some pleasurable activity or having a child choose a way of making up for their offensive behavior, e.g. helping in the classroom by cleaning the boards or picking trash off the floor, etc.
Teachers might report successful ways they have for positive discipline to be shared with other teachers in a one page publication each month for teachers to use.
There is plenty of literature regarding positive discipline measures. Maybe a periodic translation can be offered to teachers to try out in their classrooms.
I don’t know what the set up is at the school, or what resources are available so I don’t know if any of these ideas are viable or helpful.
Marilyn
The following comment was provided by our friend and colleague Katherine Tate_Bratish:
ReplyDeleteOn the last comment on sticking: "I really like Marilyn's positive reinforcement approach for the teachers. We always have to keep in mind that many of these teachers themselves don't have much (and sometimes no) teaching background, are overloaded, stressed, very underpaid, and often come from both a childhood and also school environment that used a lot of physical discipline. Don't know about the specific teachers at the African Teachers Haven school, but the norm is that teachers in East Africa get little pay and less support but have to deal with overcrowded classes with few materials. So incentives/contests for teachers and a supportive environment for their own personal continuing education could really turn the tide."