March 24th blog

The teachers’ meeting took place on Wednesday. The father presided and said he wanted to discuss two important points: monthly exams and punishments.
He started off by saying how valuable the teachers were to him, to the students and to the whole community of Carcasse. He said that that after all, living in Carcasse and teaching for very little money (around $100 monthly) is not easy, and that he commended them for their dedication and hard work.
In my previous discussions with the Father, he explained to me that every decision regarding the school and teachers required much deliberation and forethought on its possible consequences, as new rules might upset some teachers enough for them to leave, or end up in having to fire some for breaking the rules. With teachers for St. Joseph’s being so hard to find, that’s the last thing he would want, and I could see why at the meeting he took the time to make his teachers feel appreciated.

He then continued by explaining the difference between infringing upon a person’s liberties and making sure they fulfill contractual duties. The fact that he should have to expound on this is still a bit strange to me, but by now, not unexpected. I get the feeling that their idea of liberty here is different from the one I grew up with and experienced in the US – that many things which I consider a basic responsibility are to them objectionable as they are a restriction of a person’s liberty. For example, two teachers’ separate reactions at the idea of giving extra homework or supervising Saturday morning shifts as forms of punishments for the students were: “But that would be punishing the teachers!” Or consider the fact that they talked about the “slavery” of the different educational systems from different developed countries that the Haitian Government has been imposing on the Haitian people throughout the years. The Father later explained that part of the reason the Haitian educational system is broken is due to the fact that each new government so far has tried to adopt the educational system of a different country - France’s, Canada’s, etc…This created constant disruption, not to mention that these developing countries’ systems were inappropriate for the Haitian culture. Still, the use of the term “slavery” seemed a bit far-fetched to me, especially for what seems to me to be a sharing of knowledge and practices. Small things like this make me think that although Haiti gained its independence over 200 years ago, the psychological damage inflicted by slavery still manifests itself in its present-day culture. Perhaps the backlash against oppression has resulted in an overemphasis on an individual’s liberty rather than his or her social responsibilities, to the detriment of society as a whole. Of course, this is a not a fact or definitive judgment - I am only laying down my impressions and speculations of the moment based on a few people in a small town in Haiti. Rather than being an anthropological study on Haiti’s culture, much of what I write is a reflection on me – the reactions of an American girl who’s lived around the world, faced with a new environment. This is not a blog for those who want to get a purely objective look at Haiti’s culture. Apologies - but it’s inevitable.

But back to the meeting. Father Verdieu reminded the teachers that giving monthly exams was not a question of liberty - it had been agreed upon since the beginning, and was, in his words, sine qua non. It was essential for monitoring the students’ progress, and getting them to study regularly rather than leave everything to the last minute for the trimester exam.

He then broached the topic of punishments, saying he would like teachers to give out homework as punishments, and if the teachers were on board, have the students come in on Saturday mornings if they refused to do that homework. If the students refused to show up on Saturday mornings, and showed no apparent will to go to school or do any work, then they would be expelled. He finally pointed out that the use of corporal punishments would not be allowed. This seemed to wake the teachers up. One of the teachers said that this would never work, as he had worked in schools in Guadeloupe where these non-corporal techniques were used and the students were unruly and disobedient.
Father Verdieu said that in any case, corporal punishments were not severe and rare at the school. I contradicted him, telling him what the principal had told me my first week here when I asked about punishments (that students were punished by standing against the wall with their hands up and the teachers hit them with a stick), and that I saw him doing it myself, and heard the girl screaming. The principal looked at me like I was crazy and denied this, and everyone laughed. At this point, I was really sick of their attitude and lies, so I told them this was a serious matter, and that many of St. Mary’s parishioners would probably not want to make donations to pay teachers if they knew about the use of corporal punishments at the school – in other words, the teachers would lose their jobs. I also pointed out it was against Haitian law to use corporal punishments in schools, and that if an inspector should make a surprise visit, they or the Father could get in serious trouble. They made the argument that the Haitian Government is not fulfilling its promise in providing free universal education, so how can its laws carry weight? I said the two issues were separate, and this fact couldn’t be used as an excuse.
The Father said he would be talking to the students individually to see if the new rules were followed, and then agreed with me that anonymous surveys would be better because the students might not want to speak up for fear that whatever they say should come back to them.

Father Verdieu is aware of what is going on, but as I mentioned before, he can either tolerate the occasional corporal punishment, or deprive his students of an education. Obviously, I doubt this intervention will change things overnight, but I think it’s useful to at least lay down the rules.

It may seem to some that I’m imposing my own culture on the Haitian culture. That is quite possible, but I do have the Haitian law, the Catholic Church, and the Father on my side, who is the first responsible of the Catholic school here. Obviously that doesn’t mean I’m right – but let me explain my viewpoint, considering that I’ve heard both sides of the story, which I will try to relate here.

The arguments I’ve heard from those against corporal punishment include psychological studies that show that the punished child is far more likely to use violence in the future, not just for corporal punishments but towards their family members, including spouses. As one person put it, using corporal punishments is like teaching children to use violence to get what they want. Some may grow up and be able to distinguish between using corporal punishment in a controlled way at appropriate times, while others may not make this distinction, going straight from corporal punishments to domestic violence.
I personally hadn’t given much thought to corporal punishment until I was confronted with it. My gut reaction was to be filled with anger each time I saw children or teenagers being whipped. Perhaps this is a result of the culture I grew up in, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way. It feels like the proper natural reaction one would feel when seeing a bully beat up a defenseless child, just because he can. The fact that beating seems to be a first resort rather than a last resort to maintain order in the classroom makes me all the angrier because it seems like an easy cop-out. It’s easier for the teacher to whack a student a few times than grade extra homework given out as punishment or supervise students in detention - both of which would address the root cause of the problem, which is lack of studying.
It also seems to me like beating a child is an insult to his or her intelligence – it’s like saying to a child “you’re too stupid to understand reason, so I’ll just have to use the Pavlovian method instead.” (Pavlov is all about action-reaction, not leaving much room for complex thought or emotions, as I recall). A child who incorporates this belief won’t grow up with the confidence to think for himself about what is right and wrong – as I see it, one of the keys to attaining maturity and wisdom, as well as a sense of responsibility and compassion for others. The child can also grow to believe that he is an intrinsically bad person who deserves to be beaten, which can cause a host of psychological problems. I’ve also heard from those who have been beat that they would lie to their parents about their misdeeds to avoid corporal punishments. It’s easy to see why – why feel bad about lying to someone who has no interest in learning the real reasons behind one’s behavior? And thus starts the circle of vice…Of course, these are simplistic extrapolations concerning a very complex subject. I’d be interested to hear what other people think about the topic.

Those for the use of corporal punishment have told me the following things: They were beat hard as children and they’re better people for it. The first person who told me this, and who champions the cause of using it on students, incidentally, is one the most undisciplined people I’ve ever met – and although he is gregarious and fun-loving, I’ve also caught him being dishonest. Needless to say, his arguments don’t hold much weight for me.
The other person who’s told me they were beat as a child has done a better job of explaining the cultural reasons behind it. He said that although his mother beat him, he never uses corporal punishments on his own children because the different environments in which he and his kids were raised are worlds apart. This is what I came to understand from him. Proverbially speaking, there are two ways to motivate: the carrot and the stick. He made me see that in richer settings (including his family), one can hold a carrot up as a potential prize (eg: you’ll get ice cream if you do your homework!) or threaten to take an existing carrot away (no more TV for you if you don’t clean up your room!), to the point where the stick isn’t needed. In poorer settings, however, there is no carrot – only the stick remains. What can a mother do to get her child to walk 2 hours to go to school each way? She can’t promise something special – they’re already barely surviving as it is. She can’t threaten to take away a luxury they don’t have to begin with. If the child stays behind to chat with his friends and comes home late, worrying the mother silly, what can she do? Although ideally parents could just reason with their children, more often than not kids and teenagers don’t grasp realities of everyday life very well, much less their parents’ dreams of having them excel in a city university they can’t even imagine, as they’ve never left their small village. I asked this man whether he didn’t resent his mother for beating him. He said not at all, that he loved her dearly and they were very close, adding that she was poor, illiterate and uneducated when she used to beat him. Even so, I wonder if he didn’t excel despite the beatings, rather than thanks to them, as he was wise enough to look at his mother objectively and forgive her shortcomings as she was trying her best. I suppose what’s important in these different methods is whether the child feels loved or not – which can happen if the child perceives that the parent beats him or her for his or her best interests, rather than as a cop-out or a release of misdirected anger.
Talking with this man reminded me there is more than meets the eye in corporal punishments, and that one shouldn’t judge these people without walking a mile in their shoes. Some people say that the problems of corporal punishments at school and domestic violence will eventually take care of themselves as economic conditions and education levels improve. While the second man’s story fits in with this theory, the first man’s story does not, as he is from a wealthy family and still champions the cause of corporal punishments.
While I agree these factors help, I also believe the cause needs to be addressed directly, through education in non-violence and through role models who are willing to go against cultural norms to do what is right. I also think we can’t wait for the country to develop to start - if not now, then when? It will probably be another 50 years at least before Haiti lifts itself out of poverty. As a foreigner, my input is limited – after all, who am I to tell these people what to do? But people like Father Verdieu, who is influential and respected in his community, can make a world of difference.