March 4

The Library at St. Mary’s has been a success so far. We had the 7th and 9th standard (grade) take out books already. Unfortunately there are not enough easy books for all three standards (7th, 8th, 9th) to take out books at the same time. With 59 kids in 7th standard alone, there just aren’t enough to go around. But the kids who do have books out so far seem really excited about the prospect of having a book all to themselves for a few days, and I’ve noticed that they’ve been carrying them around with them everywhere they go.



There was a horrible incident at St. Mary’s that we heard about from Father Felix the other day—a girl in 6th standard, who has known heart problems, was beaten by her teacher until she fainted. Beating of kids by teachers with a thick wooden stick is common practice here in rural India, and I’m sure most kids get a whack almost every day. But I was really shocked to hear about a girl being beaten until she fainted, and probably just for talking in class or forgetting her homework. It seems so abusive by our standards.

Not to diminish how horrible that was, but I do almost kind of understand why they use that kind of “easy” punishment so much. Especially in elementary schools like Periathachoor where we work in the afternoons, there are just too many kids in each class. If the teacher didn’t have access to corporal punishment it is nearly impossible to keep a class of 60 + young kids (most of whom are complete hooligans because they are neglected or abused at home) in line well enough for them to learn something. It is a sad fact but also just a reality of overpopulation and the government not having enough money for enough teachers. The system really needs to improve or India will never bring its 55% literacy rate up, especially among the rural populations.