Keep you hands to yourself…

I found my self saying this to one of the kids in the Standard 6 class I work in at the elementary school. She was poking and hitting the girl in front of her in the head. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I realized how ridiculous it sounded. First of all, the majority of these kids in theory should have a decent grasp of English…reality is that is not so. Secondly, these kids have never been taught not to hit. They do what they see everyday. The teachers discipline them for everything from talking to misspelling vocabulary words. We were told in grading their exercise books, “make sure you mark the ones they get wrong so I can punish them later.” That translates into they will get lashes on the back of the hand or the wrist. When the behavior is really bad, it is on the thighs. In Tanzania, by the letter of the law, only the head master is allowed to dispense corporal punishment for serous offenses. The reality I see is that teachers regularly lash or hit their students. I’ve even seen one teacher corralling kids like cattle with a stick at least the size of my ring finger. It is challenging to sit back and watch. As a foreigner I can’t say much. I know that if I ever see the “corralling” action again, it will take a force of nature to keep me from intervening on behalf of the students.