Next time, it’s a red and you are off!
Jack, 14, has been caught hitting and kicking another child and so has been red carded by his teacher, and referred for counseling because of his recurring aggressive behavior.
Over 81 per cent children in Kenya are victims of violence in schools and suffer without any hope, unlike Jack, of getting any help to recover and heal the psychological wounds of the violence they have experienced. They have to accept cruel beatings, a practice which is illegal but still common in Kenyan schools. Many children are injured and even drop out of school to avoid further pain.
In Kawangware, one of the Nairobi slum settlements where Plan works, Jack’s and 12 other nearby schools have been piloting the red and yellow card system as an alternative to corporal punishment.
Modeled on the rules of football, this simple approach has captured the interest of a wide cross-section of teachers and children through its strengths in building teamwork and tolerance, and in the children themselves deciding what is unacceptable behavior, and penalizing it.
A yellow card is shown for a simple wrong such as making noise in class or leaving without permission. More than two yellow cards means a red card, given straight away for refusing to do what one is told; verbal abuse; bullying or fighting.
Mike Flyn, who heads Plan’s partner which piloted the project, the Little Sports Organization (LSO), explained that the red and yellow card approach shatters the belief that beating children is a quick way to get things done. LSO uses social and sports events to open up new opportunities beyond the academic to allow children show their skills and talents, and to be proud of them. Thereby, they earn praise, recognition and respect from their peers and teachers which is very motivating towards behaving well.
In schools where the project runs, there is an important increase in the level of peace, helpfulness and respect, and much reduced ridiculing, shouting and quarrelling, bullying and violence. Teachers think the technique could be developed to also help combat other forms of child abuse such as sexual violence, parental neglect and gang fighting. It strengthens the voice of the child, increases confidence and creates in children a sense of control over the standards of behavior in their school. Jane, a teacher, describes it as a win-win situation; children are applying their own rules, not having them imposed on them from outside.
