Last Saturday ,23rd November 2019 Sarah Joseph , a certified positive discipline trainer did two trainings in Kisumu at the Kenya National Library- Kisumu. The Positive Discipline Parenting training and Positive Discipline in Classroom drew teachers and parents : an average of 30 each. This much awaited meeting finally happened!
It is the first time in Kenya that Positive Discipline Association are conducting a training in Kenya. The teachers in Kenya for a very long time have complained. They were saying that the tool they had , to discipline the learners at school had been removed! They have been lamenting that since the cane was removed the cases of misbehavior among the children has gone up!
Beacon teachers have for some time advocated for the no use kiboko in schools but sadly this has still been the norm as much as it is illegal. Cases of children getting maimed and and even worse dying because of the excessive use of corporal punishment. Due to this Robert Omwa , a Beacon teacher reached out to Positive Discipline of Connecticut to help capacity build in this area of equipping them with more tools to share with the teachers that they meet in trainings to empower teachers to be child protectors!
Carol Dores the President of Positive Discipline of Connecticut linked Robert to the management of the mother organization, Positive Discipline Association. One thing led to another and Sarah Joseph, a Canadian Positive Discipline Trainer was in the country to facilitate the Positive Discipline ways.
Sarah made the two sessions as engaging as possible and the participants loved every bit of the training.She made the content as real to the participants as possible. It was also magical how she managed to gel and blend with the Kenyan teacher and parents, even drawing examples from there environment.
They were elated to learn that Discipline in actual sense meant “To teach” and not what it has always been construed to be.
Positive Discipline leaves a happy teacher and parents engaging happy learners while punishment leaves only sad parties.
Connection before correction was also talked about. “Where do parents and teachers get this crazy idea that children have to feel bad to behave well? Children actually need to feel better to act better and this at least is in the control of the adult.
Evidetnly the parents and teachers left the training with much tools to engage the children in their lives.The conversations on the Facebook after the training was proof enough of the fact that this training was a start of a thirst that still needs to quenched.
In attendance was Dr. Joan Mwende the County Executive for Health for Embu County, who is also the founder of Beacon Teachers Movement. She flew in time to catch the Positive Discipline in the classroom training. This she did, and participated actively in the second session, as much as she even missed missed her flight from Nairobi earlier in the day.
” Am looking at the Country and the Continent in the next decade , and am excitedly seeing a peaceful Africa. This is possible if we have children brought up following the principles of Positive Discipline that is now introduced in Kenya.” Robert Omwa, child rights advocate, the convener concluded.
ROBERT OMWA 
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