I think we are all aware of the fact that Americans are wealthy and more privileged than many parts of the world. So, this post isn’t really about how we should be grateful (though we should).
We are lucky Americans because we have free education, and in general, we have parents who support out education.
Today, I visited Katapor Jr High School (6-8th grades). This school is in a rural area outside of Accra. Below are a few photos:




Students start school around 7 am and finish at 2:30.
They sometimes use a switch (small tree limb) to discipline the students. This is not as accepted anymore. However, if it does happen, the teacher who wants the punishment CANNOT apply the “cane”. It is documented and there are 4 other adults in the room for liability. One young teacher respect has declined in her classroom since caning was phased out of schools. They are caned over their bottoms (a spanking with a thin stick).
Wednesday mornings the students have a worship service and Bible . Yes, this is a public school. They believe is part of their moral development. In fact, every day they have Morality and Religion class. Today’s sermon was on being giving and thankful. Below are pictures of them dancing and singing their worship songs. There are “prefects” (student leaders) of all areas of the school (sanitation, worship, cafeterias, classrooms, etc). This worship service was led by the students.


Do you think corporal punishment would help make more respectful students?
Here are some interesting facts about Ghanaian schools:
– The government requires kids to go to school from K-6. After this point, it depends on your financial situation, test scores, and desire.
– In Jr High, you take a test that determines which high school you can go to. Kind of like a test to get into college. It determines if you can go to the bests schools or not. Most high schools are boarding schools away from home.
Therefore, because kids are not required to go to school after 6th grade, they have less discipline issues in the classroom. Also, there isn’t really a welfare system. So, if you choose to drop out of school, you must work to make money to survive. Almost all kids who go to school then go home to work for their parents’ stores or in the house.
So, pretty much if you don’t go to school (and there is some help for the very poor but not a lot), then you go into more poverty. Some public schools do require equal to .50 cents a day.
This produces students in schools who WANT to be there… this also creates more poverty for those who choose or can’t go.
What do you think about this? How do you think America would be impacted by allowing kids to drop out if they want and go if they desire??
Today there was a “teacher strike.” Teachers want higher wages and more allowances (sounds like the US). The teachers came for our meeting… but kids were there too! Even though they got there and there was not school because of the strike, many of them sat in the library and read or studied. Their big “exam” to get into high school is coming up. Some other kids were chopping coconuts with machetes.
Here are some pictures of the students, including one of a teacher wearing a Myers Park t-shirt.



This is their library:

In closing, Americans should be grateful for the free education provided. They should not squander this opportunity because there are children begging on the streets of Ghana in effort to raise money to go to school.
Those children would give anything to be in your shoes.