Our school is the Tafi Atome primary school. There are about 175 students from KG- class 6. Molly teaches class five which includes students from ages 9-17, and Renee's Class 3 has students or "pupils" as they are called, from ages 8-14. Students begin school when their parents can afford to send them. Even though it is supposed to be a free public education, families have to pay for notebooks and uniforms. School begins at 8 AM. Some of the subjects we teach are citizenship, Religious and Moral education, English, Ewe (the local language- we combine with another class) Science, Math and Creative arts. They are supposed to have library and Computers but their teachers never take them to the library/lab facility that is down the road. We have also learned that teachers often leave their class unattended for long periods of time and often show up hours late. It is a very different system than we are used to. Schedules are very loosely followed. This week students are practicing for a cultural competition so after lunch they are either practicing or watching others practice until the end of school day at 2:00. Students are punished by being told told kneel in front of the class or being caned. This means they are whipped with a long branch on the back, legs, bottom, hands or head. Last week we witnessed the whole of Class 6 caned in from of the entire school at an assembly. Teachers were chatting and on their phones during this display. This has been the hardest to witness and understand. Needless to say we have had much success with giving positive reinforcement to our students whom we couldn't imagine caning. It is a brutal and cruel practice that seems only to teach the children to hit each other, which they often do. Apparently this practice has been banned according to the government but their is no enforcement and it being a culturally accepted practice, it still happens in most schools except some private schools.
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