Lucy's Article 2: The Result of Running From School in Ghana
Article #31 in the YCC Kids Club Ghana Student Life Stories Project
The Result of Running Away From School
By Lawani Lucy, Age 13
"Run fast, Lucy!" my friend shouted. "Pass over to the other side of the road so they won't see us!"
On the fifth of March, 2010, my friend Bless and I decided to run away from school. We were hungry to a great extent, but at that moment we did not even have money to buy water to drink. So my friend told me we should run away from school to find food.
At first I refused, but later on I agreed we should go. But I had never run away from school before! What if we saw a teacher on the way? I am in the Junior High School, and the teachers are many. But my friend influenced me to run, and off we went!
Almost immediately, we saw walking right towards us... our headmaster. We went to swerve, but our headmaster saw us. He demanded our name, and we longed to call out a different person's name, but that day was Wednesday and thus that day we had heard a sermon in school about the word of God, so I didn't want to tell any lie on that day.
We called out our names truthfully, and the headmaster told us that we should both come to his office early the next morning.
The next morning when we came into the Headmaster's office, we saw a big cane on the table. At that moment I thought, "If I had known..." but immediately the headmaster boomed: "Hey! Lucy and Bless, come here!"
Then I saw a giant man that I didn't even know, and I started to remember back to the time I was born, and I just shook my head and tried to sleep on the table as the cane went: "Sluch! Sluch! Sluch!" at my back.
I cried very hard that day, and I didn't even talk to anybody.
Later, the headmaster said that we should dig a hole to continue our punishment. My friend refused at first, but ultimately he agreed. We both did that work, digging the heavy dirt.
You know what? For my friend, digging that hole was a punishment. But as for me, it was a lesson I had to learn.
So readers, learn from me. Never escape from school, because it is a bad habit.
Lillie's Note: Please leave a comment for Lucy, a proud member of the Cross-Culture Class, on her fascinating article!
As we see the finest food and sights that Spain has to offer, let us not forget the amazing hard work and fund raising the YCC students and staff are putting into their upcoming first flight ever out of Ghana!
The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Thank you for telling us your story Lucy. Thank you also for the great lesson of not running away from school. Sad to hear about the cane part of the story.
Dear Lucy,
I feel so sorry that you were punished so severely. I hope you are feeling better. You are a good, honest and hard working student. I like how you say you did not think of it as punishment but instead a lesson learned. With an attitude like that you will be very successful.
Emily
Good thing we don't have those types of punishment here!
Thank you for sharing your story. That was a very extreme punishment. Ill bet you learned your lesson about not ditching school. In the USA they don't have such harsh punishments.
You showed a very good lesson that kids should never run away from school because they could run into trouble and danger.
Oh my goodness! That girl stole my name! I am so glad that Ms. Pastor doesn't make us dig holes and hit us with canes.
I feel like the hole digging would be worse than the cane. Digging a hole seems so exhausting.
I am sorry that you were caned. Thank you for sharing and being honest.
This article is powerful and extremely touching. It made me realize how fortunate I am to have most of the things I have. I also believe that Lucy, you are a very courageous individual. If I were in those circumstances, I think I would have let myself dehydrate because I know I would not be able to bare with the consequences. In that case keep up all your good work!
Kids used be beaten for skipping school in Dominican Republic too. Remember that school is all you got and someday if you work hard in school, you'll never be that hungry again. So I wish you luck! Great job on the article!
This happens in vietnam to!
Dear, Ms marshall
I like this story because she got caught and that happened in one of the shows i watch- also we read this in class
Lawani,
I agree that your punishment seems unfair. Keep up your school work and you will go far. Good luck!!!
AJ
Thank you for your story Lucy - it is hard to face consequences when they are harsh. I finished school without ever learning to like it. But it has opened many doors of opportunity for me so I am glad I never gave up or ran away. Keep at it - it will pay off eventually
I'm so sorry that you were caned, Lucy. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Lucy,
That is quite a harsh consequence for your mistake. I can't imagine how many times I have deserved a punishment like that in my days at school, but luckily for me caning is forbidden.
Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you are staying in class from now on.
Kwabla - (Connecticut, USA)
wooow its an interesting article ...
i like it ,,thank you for sharing...
Thank you for sharing! Ghana is actually on my list of travel destinations. There is a vegan inn in Accra where you can volunteer with kids, the community and sustainable living gardening projects.
I write a vegan world travel blog and travel tips.
http://www.veganworldtrekker.com
I will add your blog to my links.Pls add my blog link to your sidebar links.
Thanks!
you have done a great job elikem
Thank you for being honest and sharing this story with us. It took me a long time before I learned that I should not escape from school and that school was good for me. But eventually I really started to enjoy it and it has helped me in a great way.
Wow, extremely touching article! Keep up the good work Lucy!! Very informative and interesting. Sad to hear about the cane though. Smh.