#1 Is this typical?
#2 Because it is "cultural", does that make it "okay"?
#3 Shouldn't a "Christian" orphanage be expected to show the love of Christ?
"This was quite an experience to say the least. Considering I've never been in a Ghanaian classroom I am unaware of how things are done here, or what is considered the "norm". Since this orphanage was founded on Christian beliefs they have a Bible teaching every morning, as well as a memory verse they must learn each week. This is the first thing that happens every morning. This particular morning the kids were learning about forgiveness. "For it is when you forgive that you are forgiven" ... I felt the teacher explained this concept pretty well but what happened throughout the rest of the morning was a bit confusing to me. What I learned that day is that it is customary for teachers in Ghana to threaten their students with a cane (or stick) if they don't "act right" or do as they are told. Several times throughout the morning the teacher would shout at the students saying "I will beat you!" while waving her stick in the air. I was horrified! As a side note, I have been doing a study on the Book of James and chapter 3 talks about "taming the tongue" and how teachers have a great responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Their actions should reflect what they teach to others. But the verse that came to my mind immediately was verses 9-10: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing." I now understand that it is the "norm" here in Ghana to hit, or at least threaten students with a stick, but I feel it sends mixed messages to students as they learn about God's love and forgiveness at the same time they are being hit for punishment. It seems so contradictory. ... The following day I was listening to BBC on the radio and heard a story about three students who died in India because they were so severely beaten by their teacher with a stick. My heart sank. Now I don't believe for a second that this would ever happen at this orphanage, but it just made me realize how common this is all over the world. I am amazed that school systems and governments would allow this to happen. It's so heartbreaking to me."
For those of you that have brought children home from Ghana, have they spoken of these beatings? Is this a common practice in the Ghanaian orphanages?
I would really like to hear from those of you that have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, from Ghana. Your thoughts ???
Is there anything that we can do to make life better for the children that are still waiting to come home to their forever families?
Laurel. Great post and great topic. Caning is very common throughout the school system in Ghana. Children are expected to submit completely to the teacher's authority. It's in most schools--not just orphanage schools.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also probably very common for children to be "disciplined" with caning and other physical punishments at orphanages (or simply in their homes!). Even to have pepper placed on private parts is a common punishment.
It is a VERY hard thing to get out of the physche of a Ghanaian--not to physically punish a child. We don't allow it at Eban House (of course) but it is a CONSTANT struggle because the staff don't automatically understand how to discipline withtout it and (honestly) the kids only have experience responding to physical punishment. A time out? Sheesh--that is NOTHING for them!
We have had reports of "lesser" physical punishments like pinching an ear lobe or "leading" a child too forcefully by the arm. Still NOT okay at our children's home. It's just really hard to monitor and to change what most GHanaians think of as the "best" way.
Anita
That is so sad! :(
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of something I saw on Crazy Dad's blog a while back. I found it on your sidebar, but in case you didn't see it. His son from Ethiopia is sharing about a time he got in trouble at school for something that wasn't really his fault. Here's the link: http://welovebigfamilies.blogspot.com/2008/11/kds-school-story.html
May God heal the wounds-- inside and out-- on these precious children!
I have not adopted though I have spent time overseas. And while I would say what the teachers are doing is wrong, they are not doing in maliciously but because that's what they've been taught.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can sadden us to see people who live in ignorance. But the best thing is to intercede, lead by example, and disciple.
We can't stop all injustice overnight. But when we realize in the case of the teachers that they are not trying to abuse the children we can learn how to teach both the students and the teachers about what it means to live in healthy Christlike fellowship. :)
The intern's observations and judgments are a bit loaded. I am by no means saying that canning is the best solution, but I think the intern's attitude is what gives America a bad image overseas. A well meaning do gooder American flies in, makes quick judgments about people's motivations without understanding the cultural context and then quickly prescribes solutions. And then we wonder why Americans are seen as patronizing and condescending? In our misplaced sense of superiority, we forget that we are really all the same at core. A brief look back at American history will reveal that canning in our public schools was legal in the very recent past. Shocker of all shockers, canning is still legal and permissible in a lot of Christian schools in good old America! This is not hearsay, but part of the agreement my sister and her husband had to sign when sending their children to christian school - and in the very liberal California of all places. Additionally, this is not a uniquely "third world" phenoma. In England, canning in public schools is legal and still happens. As Americans, it is so easy to rush to remove specks from eyes of the rest of the world as we seek to rescue them from themselves (their "ignorance") without taking time to remove the logs from our eyes first. Is it possible that the Christian orphanage was using the proverb "spare the rod and spoil the child" as the rationale for their form of discipline? I guess if the intern would have engaged in a conversation with the teachers instead of being so judgmental, then it would have resulted in some interesting discussions. Interesting how we forget or skip over some verses in scripture and only remember those that seem to strengthen our position.
ReplyDeleteI am appreciating this dialogue.
ReplyDeleteAnita ... thanks for sharing your perspective, as an adoption coordinator. I am glad to hear that Eban house has found other ways to discipline the children there, even though caning is a cultural thing to do in Ghana.
Vicky ... thanks for the link. I had missed that post on Crazy Dad's blog, and appreciated seeing the video tonight.
Amanda ... thank for your insights. Yes, we need to intercede, lead by example, and disciple. Amen!
Janice ... I definitely hear what you are saying, but I believe that the caning in Ghana is much different than the use of a spanking in the U.S. I believe that when spankings were/are allowed in the U.S., that the teacher would most often send a student to the principals office where the principal (without the emotion of being involved in the disobedience) would give the prescribed punishment. This is in contrast to teachers in Ghana (which I am much more familiar with than just this post) which tend to yell/scream at the children quite often, and cane them regularly throughout the day.
As a parent, I agree that sometimes the use of a spanking (on the bottom only) might be the best form of punishment. However ... this is certainly not an all day, every day type of punishment. It is used only in the most outrightly defiant circumstances.
I believe the key here is something that I discussed in detail in a blog post on January 8th.
Discipline is, "the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience."
Punishment is, "the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense."
I believe that Discipline is absolutely imperative when raising children, in a loving family or in an orphanage. And, I believe that if the proper training is taking place, there will be little need for punishment, such as caning.
It appears that the people of Ghana know very well how to administer punishment, but may not have the knowledge of how to train children towards obedience, without the use of physical punishment.
Thank you all, for your comments. I look forward to reading more perspectives.
Laurel
The orphanage in this story ... is an American-run, Christian orphanage, not an orphanage run by native Ghanaians who don't know any differently.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is that an American (who should be aware of the detrimental affect that this type of punishment might have on children) would allow it because it is "cultural".
I hope I did not leave the impression that I was advocating canning as the only way to teach obedience. Instead, I was a bit amazed that the intern seems to think that canning is something uniquely un-American! From her one day experience, she did not seem to indicate that she observed much canning. Instead she seemed horrified that the teachers threatened to cane the students. I guess it would have been more balanced if she had expressed the same outrage at the children in America who are abused at the hands of their parents and caretakers. I mean with 500,000 children in the foster care system due to abuse and neglect from American parents, it seems a bit misplaced to be taking the moral high road and lecturing the rest of the world about canning in their schools. The vast majority of the case files from our foster care children read like horror stories and nothing like the intern was describing in the Ghanian orphanage. I guess she skipped that one and went from Ghana over to India totally forgetting the atrocities committed against our children.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Europe and Africa for fifteen years, and I guess my shackles get raised when we as Americans say things that sound so self-righteous while missing our own shortcomings. While living in Africa, I had the canning discussion so many times but I am not sure I made any headway. Most people seem to view American children as spoilt, rude, ungrateful and self-centered. When I would suggest to my friends in Africa to explore other ways of discipling their children (who I might add were all much more well behaved than most American kids I know), they would always ask me if I wanted their children to be like American children! I was never able to get past that hurdle!
Laurel - my mother in law has run into this problem at both schools in which she volunteer teaches in Ghana. She found that the kids did not respect her or listen to her AT ALL unless she threatened them (she never hurts them, just threatens). This was very hard for her, as she was in the public school system in the US for twenty-something years and never had to physically threaten a child there. I think it is just another facet of Ghanaian life that is a couple of decades 'behind' - like Janice said, corporal punishment was very common just a few decades ago in the US. That being said, I think it is wrong for us to judge the teachers in Ghana by our American standards.
ReplyDeleteI am not at all advocating going into Ghanaian society and trying to change how they run their own schools.
ReplyDeleteI guess my thoughts are that if an American is running an orphanage where they hope to adopt most of the children out to American families, wouldn't the orphanage time be a good time to transition the children to more American-style discipline and punishment?
When American families know that their children are being regularly beaten with sticks at the orphanages, it makes the wait that much more difficult. Thankfully, as Anita said, this is not happening at all orphanages.
Check out Jessica's post on this at http://sugarhousemama.blogspot.com/2009/02/see-that-cute-little-girl-down-there-in.html
ReplyDeleteMy 2cents worth says that caning and threatening to cane are actually better than allowing children to run wild and instituting NO discipline. That may not be a popular thought, but truth is a society would be much worse off if there was chaos and no self control than if that individual self-control were taught in harsh ways. So taking away caning and not giving parents, teachers, and other authority different and appropriate ways to handle misbehavior would be worse than allowing corporal punishment.
However...my daughter tells stories of her brother being "beaten" every morning at their orphanage (run by a non-Ghanaian Christian woman) for pooping (obviously a potty training issue). She was so concerned about it that at the tender age of 6 and 7 she was desperately trying every morning to find him first and clean him up before anyone noticed and could beat him. We all know there are better ways to teach than that, so how could we show them that? I don't know. It's a completely different way to think about child development and humanity.
Kristin, I think your point is a very good one. Even with trying to give our staff at Eban House training on how to discipline without physical punishment it is VERY hard. It's hard for the staff because they believe that physical punishment is the way to go, and because our kids are used to responding only to physical punishment. We find that the kids are responding better to rewards for good behavior than they do to alternative methods of discipline for bad behavior (time outs, loss of priviledge, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI'm sure most everybody knows this, but just wanted to mention again that "beating" or "beat" in Ghana is used for any sort of hitting. A slight swat on the bottom would be referred to as a "beating" the same as a caning would. Also, I've noticed that lots of adults and kids joke around and say "I will beat you!" in the same way we might say, "I'm gonna get you!" All that to say, sometimes it's hard to know if a child was "spanked" or actually beaten.
Finally, I want to encourage parents who hear stories of physical punishment from their kids to make sure that the folks running the children's home know about it. Even though we work really hard with our staff on the "no physical punishment" thing, we still sometimes get reports of a child's ear being pinched, or an arm being pulled. I don't want that for our kiddos but can't do anything about it unless someone reports it to me! =-)
Anita
Our son, adopted from Liberia at 5 also talked of "beatings" at school and at church! His first Sunday at church here he dropped a toy and looked at me with the most frightened eyes, wondering what I would do.
ReplyDeleteWe struggled with getting him to pay attention in school. He seemed to think I was too easy on him therefore there was not reason to listen. We now focus on rewards and if correction is needed, he does push ups or sit ups, kind of like military training! Ha Ha!
Interesting about the pepper on the private areas. I had never heard of it before, but just a couple of weeks ago he told me that was done to him by his foster mother!