It took me by a surprise that i had to witness that gruesome act. It was my first day at CAMPS yet i was subjected to such scene of brutality. That was the thought that lingered in my mind as i watched three students being lashed at their back. They received the strokes of lashes as if it was a mere flies' wing buzzing on their skin. I got scared because it was my first day at school. Daddy had just dropped me off in my class and this is the first scene i saw. I concluded not to befriend those guys as they must be very stubborn to have been punished such an early morning.
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I entered the class and greeted my new teacher. His name was Mr. Ako. A plump man with a weird spectacle that hang on his nose. He responded and gave me a grin and showed me to my chair. I was disturbed to be in the class as everyone gazed at me with an eye that made me feel inferior. I was the odd one in class that day. I couldn't concentrate for the lesson and my name had to be shouted several times to bring me to focus whenever Mr. Ako craved my attention. I was exempted from punishment but i felt punished each time i was asked to answer a question. I felt a slight mistake will lead to me receiving lashes as that was the norm in the class. We are punished for not grabbing a concept that is taught in the class room.
The day turned awesome when we had our lunch break. We had a whole hour to play football. It was my first day and i had not made any friends yet. I felt so lonely but was shy to interact with the other students. I remember one beautiful girl walk straight at me. I wanted to teleport that instant from where I was standing as I felt chills all over my body. I had no option than to bend my head when she mentioned my name. I was freakishly shy. We had a short conversation which opened the gateway to friendship. Before I realised, everyone was saying goodbye to me. The day had ended and I set off to go home.
I had an amazing time in school and couldnt wait for the following day. This was the thought that lingered in my mind as I walked home. A new day came and I was excited to goto school. Right in the morning, we had a quick drill which was a recall of what we learnt the previous day. As new as I was, i didnt pay attention in class the previous day and as such didnt remember anything. Our class teacher, Mr. Ako had a cane in his hand which he used to lash anyone who failed to answer a question correctly. It was my turn to answer a question. I knew I would be lashed. I was so desperate and was in despair. Mr. Ako gave me a lash which changed my life.
Prior to coming to the school, I had never been beaten for failing to answer a question before. I was in my world of fantasy, full of play when it came to school activities. I cried and the whole class broke into laughter. Memories of that single lash tormented me for several days. I felt an urge to stop the school but something pushed me to continue. I swore never to receive such lashes again and so I started paying attention. The fear of canes has made me active in class and also a brilliant student. The same cannot be said for all. We all have our individual cures to our problems.
The three guys I saw being lashed the first day were consistently lashed through out my stay in the school. They loved playing football as compared to learning science or mathematics. My initial perception about them had changed after meeting them for a while because I realized I also could be a victim as well. I actually found it difficult to understand why they were perpetual sinners in the crime of not learning. I thought they would be fed up with the canes and pay attention. Nothing of that sort happened. They had become accustomed to the lashes. I believe a lash a day kept them going.
Today I argue whether students should be lashed for not answering questions correctly or not. It might sound so weird in some countries but it is so common in Ghana. Jumping into 16 years after my first day in that school. We have all grown up. The three guys failed academically but are excelling in their football career. If we are to grade success by monetary stands, I will rank them as the most successful among us all who were in that class. To me canes intimidated me to an extent that I lost my self confidence back in my early schooling days. It does more harm than good when used too often. And this is what happens many times in our various schools. The two guys could have easily lost interest in football because they at times got lashed for playing football. That would have been their biggest disaster in live. I believe education is the best thing that happened to man. But schools currently suck at doing the job and we need to change.
This is a call to all who feel the same to write about a proposed education system in comment below and share how an ideal education center should be. Lets create the best imaginary education platform in words on steem blockchain.
