Order in the Classroom

To maintain order, teachers here frequently yell or hit children with a switch. Raised with a different system of education and values these acts of violence are often difficult for us "Westerners" to handle.
Children often answer questions in hushed tones to avoid the consequences of an erroneous response.
In an effort to demonstrate that order can be maintained in a large class while encouraging learning, we set out to create positive learning environments. Initially teachers reacted with a degree of concern or perhaps even horror at our attempts to engage students in meaningful learning that was fun. We created paper airplanes and measured the distances that they flew, we played hangman to encourage spelling and used active songs to engage students in learning.
It was rewarding when, into our third week of teaching, the regular teacher came to class without her switch. Perhaps in a small way, these demonstrations will change the way the teachers that we worked with approach their students in the future. Maybe one day they will retire their switches for ever.