Teaching Resources
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
- Jim Rohn
In this assignment I will be contrasting the disciplinary procedures in Tanzania and England to indicate whether culture has an influence.
The Tanzanian governmental policies reject most forms of violent disciplinary procedures carried out in schools (Law of the Child Act, 2009). Unfortunately, there is a wide range of schools that still practice violent procedures in Tanzania. Corporal punishment (National Corporal Punishment Regulations, 1979) maintains its popularity in Tanzania as it is still frequently used in numerous schools. Due to being a sovereign state with strong cultural and religious aspects, physical punishment is believed to be far more effective in Tanzania than UK. The cultural aspect is emphasized through the Swahili phase of ‘samaki mkunje angali mbichi,’ [bend the fish while fresh]. This phrase encourages parents/carers to shape the child’s character and behaviour whilst they are young. John Lock (1632-1704) also supports this phrase by quoting, ‘a child is an empty vessel waiting to be filled’. Meaning that a child is not born with characteristics. In fact they gain these characteristics through their parents/carers. Therefore, it is argued, the child should be disciplined in order to shape their behaviour positively. However, it is arguable that the techniques the Tanzanian teachers use are too cruel for children to handle.
Conversely, England has disciplinary policies that pupils, teachers, and anyone working in the educational institution must abide by before and after school also. In contrast to Tanzania, England does not permit corporal punishment. Instead, the detention procedure is very popular. The teacher makes the student, which has been misbehaving, stay after school to make up the time he/she has wasted. The first stage of punishment for a disruptive student is detention; if the behavior does not improve then suspension takes place. Suspension is where a child is not allowed to attend school for a fixed amount of days. The decision of the head teacher needs to first be approved by the Chair of the Board of Governors. Finally, expulsions; where a student is expelled from school (Education and Training Reform Amendment (School age Act, 2009). Expulsion is the last action schools take into consideration, however if a student’s behavior is deemed bad enough and did not improve then exclusion occurs. Again, the decision is made between the principal and the Chairperson of the Board of Governors. Teachers in England are trained to sort problematic students verbally. So the teachers would either tell the student off or tell the disruptive student to leave the class. Physical action is only permitted to restrain the dangerous student from hurting those around him/her. If violent is used against the children, then the head teacher gets involved and deals with the situation.
Overall, the discipline of Tanzania education is highly influenced by cultural factors. Even though, the policies reject certain acts of violence; it still occurs. The Tanzanian government needs to emphasize on the education itself by excluding cultural practices such as using violence to maintain discipline. Whereas, in the UK, discipline vastly differs from the Tanzanian disciplinary procedures. Violent action is not even taken into consideration; instead teachers aim to solve the problem verbally. The laws and regulations are forced upon the teacher for the rights of the children. Therefore safety of the children is valued and safeguarded in the UK.
Viewing the video below, I have analyzed the punishment system in Tanzania. Below is a video to show a clear example of a punishment procedure that is both physical and emotionally distracting. I chose this video specifically, because this video is the summary of the corporal punishment in Tanzania and frequently occurs in schools. It gives a taste of what life, as student in Tanzania would be like. The physical punishment is very obvious as the teacher is deliberately physically hitting the students. The emotional side to this scene is the fact the students are disciplined to wait in an order to get punished. Not only for children but for anyone that is an embarrassing, shameful, and frightening scene to watch your friends getting hurt, and also to be punished openly. The children are likely to be scarred throughout their school life or maybe even throughout their whole life; leaving them with a frightful memory. This method if forcing the children to be scared of their teachers, whilst the teachers are supposed to be responsible for the safety of the children. The relationship between the students and the teachers are not secure. Being punished openly is very shameful for the children as they put into pain in front of their classmates. The embarrassment may cause the student from not attending school anymore. It is almost impossible to focus on the lesson, whilst the children have fear about their safety; their work performance is very likely to be affected negatively.
Throughout the video, it is visible the discipline method shows no sign of rights or morals. However, I have also analyzed the inequality in the disciplinary method being used; the boys are hit anywhere on the body whereas the females are only hit on the hand and legs. The type of punishment itself is unacceptable regardless of any culture, but the fact that there’s a sexual barrier between the makes and females makes it worst. This sexual segregation indicates that males are stronger and women are weak. It also implies the idea that men are more superior than females and this idea in drilled upon the children’s mentality.
BY KUBRA BAS
References:
Corporal Punishment in School. (2014). [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVa-SJXuaUs&list=PLlDv1kTWqPpuetXcOyZd8OffKMIhD6S1O [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
England flag. (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.englishfellowshipandculturalsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/englandstgeorge-300x214.jpg [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
Gov.uk, (2014). School discipline and exclusions - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/school-discipline-exclusions/discipline [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014].
Gupta, A. and Ferguson, J. (1997). Culture, power, place. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Mason, J. and Fattore, T. (2005). Children taken seriously. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Tanzania flag. (2014). [image] Available at: http://ak7.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/2992624/preview/stock-footage-tanzania-text-with-fluttering-flag-animation.jpg [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].
School discipline, suspensions and expulsions. (2014). [online] Available at: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/school-discipline-suspensions-and-expulsions [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014].