Taking the plunge

The teachers’ enthusiasm for the workshop lasted as far as Monday. They’re still positive about it, but I think when the reality of teaching slapped them in the face again their positivity started to wane. The system of break-time detentions that I proposed and that was agreed during the workshop was slightly misapplied by the vice principal on Monday when he sent some girls out of his class for some minor misdemeanor and decided to “put them in detention” by locking them in the store room. And them told them off for banging on the door. I had to carefully explain to him that there is a difference between detention and imprisonment, and that anyone would bang on the door if they were locked into a small room. It’s an uphill struggle for me to try and get them to follow their positive words with positive action, but I think we’re getting there. It’s a shame I only have half a week before exams and then holidays, but I guess even a small improvement would be good.

Earlier on Monday, I decided to take advantage of the principal’s positivity after the workshop, and I took the plunge that I’d been wanting to take for a while – I confronted him about the fact that corporal punishment was going on in the school, including by him, which is blatantly against their policy and supposed ethos. Without intending to, I ended up giving him a bit of a lecture, saying that as refugees from violence they should be setting an example for the children that violence isn’t the solution to problems (repeating what I said in the workshop). He started to act surprised when I was saying that I’d seen kids come out of his office having been hit, but then saw I wasn’t having any of it. As I continued, he then started going red and his eyes started welling up. When I finished, I expected him to get defensive or pretend it didn’t happen. Instead, he thanked me, saying that he wanted to have honest and open relationships with the volunteers. He said that the school had fallen short of the standards they’d set themselves, that they should be setting a better example for the kids, and that things are not the way they should be. He also agreed that following the workshop, the next teachers meeting would be a good time for him to make a statement recommitting to the policy. Although I’m not sure whether he has enough control over the teachers to make them stop, I came out of the discussion really buzzing with the result. In retrospect I feel a bit sorry for him though – his heart is obviously in the right place and he is against corporal punishment, but he doesn’t have enough control over either the kids or the teachers.

Looking forward to watching the Manchester United match tomorrow night, as a random guy who started talking to me in the street (which happens at least 5-10 times a day) told me about the Man U fan club in the refugee camp, which sounds like a great place to watch it!