Teachers as champions for change in Philippines
Teachers are vital partners in Plan international’s campaign to eliminate violence against children in schools. Their position of authority within a school and community setting, and their experiences as witnesses, perpetrators and victims of violence gives them the transformational power to make real change happen.
One example of teachers championing the campaign can be found in the village of Palanas in the district of Masbate, in the Philippines. A secondary school supported by Plan International has recently launched a series of anti-corporal punishment training session for parents. These sessions are being run by a teacher who has not only witnessed corporal punishment but also used to use corporal punishment to discipline his son. He talks openly of his deep regret whenever he used to hit his child, joking that his guilt even stopped him from being able to enjoy his favourite pass time of watching cock fighting. His revelation highlights a crucial point; people use corporal punishment to discipline their pupils or children, not because they want to be violent towards children. What they need is to be shown alternative ways to discipline children, so they do not have to revert to violence.
This is exactly the focus of this training. The teacher was trained by Plan in peaceful teaching methods and now states he will never use corporal punishment again. He supports this cause so much he is now running session with parents, aiming to convince them of the same. As someone who has been through the process and is convinced there is another way to discipline children, he makes a convincing case which all the parents seem honestly interested in and convinced by. This is helped by the open and often very entertaining way he leads the training session.
The training is initially being given to around forty parents who represent some of the most engaged parents in the school governance and community at large. There is much work to be done to convince these parents to the extent that they in turn will act as champions in their communities, but it is an important start. As they finish the session by chanting ‘Parents are the first teachers’ and ‘We say NO to corporal punishment’ it is hard to imagine they will not go out and change the minds of other around them.
This is a reminder of the power of authentically committed individuals and communities who are dedicated to make the world their children live in one which is safe and one which provides them with the best opportunities to fulfil their potential.
December 2010
