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Moving Beyond the Cane
Rethinking discipline in Ghanaian schools
The Fear Factor
I’m on a mission in my home country, Ghana, to empower my daughter with the rich Ghanaian culture during her early years. As we prepare to return to the United States, there is one goal burning deep within me: to stop the use of corporal punishment in Ghanaian classrooms once and for all.
Yesterday, I attended a Parent-Teacher Interaction (PTI) at my daughter’s school, and the topic of discipline was at the forefront of our conversations. “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” they say.
As a parent who cares a whole lot about who my daughter grows up to become, I’ve already had many talks with the teachers about the use of the rod (or cane as we now call it) as a disciplinary measure, which I strongly believe does more harm than good. Unfortunately, my daughter has continuously told me about her experiences of being subjected to the cane, and it’s really upsetting.
To make matters worse, as I returned to the school to give my daughter the lunch box she left at home, I accidentally went to the wrong class only to find a teacher brandishing the cane in the classroom, banging it on the table to instill fear and secure immediate attention. The kids settled down pretty quickly, but it’s hard not to question the…
