Corporal Punishment in Tanzania
It has been many decades since corporal punishment was considered an effective or appropriate means of disciplining kids in the US (can you say: “lawsuits”?), but not all other countries are as advanced (read: litigious) as we are. I was reminded of this during my CCS orientation here in Tanzania, when we were told that those of us volunteering in an educational capacity should expect to see misbehaving children hit by their teachers and that we shouldn’t intervene. Despite the warning, I was still shocked when I arrived at juvie this morning and saw, amongst several other murals adorning the front of the compound, a picture of a man beating a child with a cane.
How can they be so forthright and open about it? I have no idea. But it appears to be an effective deterrant because when I asked John, my fellow volunteer, why the kids didn’t run away through the open front gate, he told me that none of the other kids would permit it since they would all be beaten mercilessly if anyone ran away. I personally abhor the practice, but by the end of my trip it’s possible that I too may be whacking the troublemakers on the back of the hand with a ruler. An American girl who has only been teaching here for a week before I arrived said she quickly came to the conclusion that it’s the only way to get through to the most intractable troublemakers and, since it’s the done thing here, has adopted the practice herself.
