Should Schools Be Able To Hit Your Kids?

When I was growing up (I'm only twenty, so elementary and middle school are less than fifteen years ago), paddlings (we called them "licks") were offered as an alternative to another punishment, and were offered only when you'd really done something wrong. I will confess that, yeah, sometimes it's inappropriate, like if they don't know why you did it, or if you don't know what you did, but it never hurt. And at any point, your parents could sign a piece of paper or give them a note telling them that they're not allowed.

I myself got licks... kinda often. Not that I was a bad kid. Most of them were for fighting with the kids that would pick on me, and they got licks, too, for starting the fight and participating.
The options were in school suspension (which is actually the worse one, to me.) or licks. In fact I chose the licks more often than the in school 'cos the licks were over faster.
The teacher would go easy on you the first time, second time and third time it got a little rougher 'cos, well, you were screwing up more than once on the same offense. And I had no bruises, had no tissue damage. Just stung a little while.

And, yeah, you need to make sure an actual rule was broken, and that the child understands what they did. Once, in first grade, I laughed when the teacher said someone was puking. I'd never heard that word before, and it sounded funny, so I laughed, and the teacher took me to get a paddling (which was more like nudging the paddle up against me. I was more embarrassed than pained.) and I never understood what I'd done. I didn't know what puking -was-.

Another point is to warn the kid, or give them a pre-punishment that isn't spanking. "If you do that again, we're going to spank you."
There was always a pre-punishment. My first fight was one lick, the next was three, the next was five, and I was told at the beginning of the school year that fighting would be responded to with licks or in school.

My science teacher in seventh grade would often just make an example of the students by sending them outside and following him with the paddle--and then hitting his shoe with the paddle. The kid would be expected to come back into the room faking injury of course.

Upwards on into high school and the like, it's kind of ridiculous to paddle the students, but when you're six years old, pain's pretty much the only way to really teach a lesson. When your mom sent you to your room, did you -really- think about what you'd done, or did you get distracted by jumping on your bed, which is what you were being punished for in the first place. When you were in time out, did you repeat the offense that landed you in time-out? Especially if it was throwing a tantrum. Which you often did on the way to time out.

And, really-- I'll grant that, yeah, violence leads to violence, but, and here's an oxymoron for you, sometimes it's necessary violence. I don't approve of taking your fist to your child, and I do know a crazy drunk-ass teacher who used to peg kids with chalkboard erasers (in high school, he did nothing that traumatizing to a ten-year-old.), but a swat on the ass can sometimes keep the kid from turning into a real brat.
And, really, kids adapt pretty well. You do learn to avoid getting spanked, unless you genuinely decide it was worth it. (I always found punching a kid that had been picking on me and did not get punished 'cos picking on someone did not constitute a reason for spanking--in the face very satisfying and worth getting spanked, no matter how much it hurt.)

So, yeah. Constitute what earns them a spanking, tell them this ahead of time, or warn them that it earns a spanking while they're doing it (if you don't stop, I will spank you, for instance.) and odds are they'll stop. Unless they know you're just talk, because then it doesn't work.

-R.F.

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I work at a school in the south that still uses corporal punishment. The assistant principal is the one who paddles the child. She always has a witness in the room which is usually me because I have the classroom next door. Our school although a county school is more like an inner-city school. I personnally think that the corporal punishment does its job some of the time. No punishment is full-proof. It mainly works on the younger students. (We are a 3rd thur 6th grade school) Suspension is a free ride, because not only do they get a day to play video games and watch tv they get to make up any work missed. Besides we are only allowed to suspend special education students, (meaning even learning disabled students), for 10 days per school year. We have major discipline issues at our school, so say what you will about corporal punishment but even if it works a little it provides much needed relief for our classrooms.

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Hmmm, I was paddles a few times myself at school. It was due to my big mouth and a penchant for getting into trouble. I deserved it. I was also spanked by my mom and dad. Once again, I deserved it. I lied to them, hid things from them and was generally disrespectful. I don't hate my parents or the school personnel for this discipline, it made me int a better person. I am not saying that spanking and paddling are the way to go, but I think this is a personal decision to be made by the parents. There is a distinction, that is quite wide, between punishment and beating.

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Several of you have implied that physical punishment is the only way to make children obey. That it's the threat of such a punishment that keeps school children in line. You have also stated that the threat of physical punishment really only works with younger children. So what happens when they are too big to be bullied by you? How do you discipline a child who has been taught to obey out of fear once they are too big to be afraid?

This is just ridiculous. I can't believe such a practice is still legal. If you hit a dog with a wooden board it's animal cruelty. If you hit an adult with a wooden board it's assault. But if you hit a child with a wooden board it's just "plain old good discipline"? And we aren't talking about parents here. We're talking about teachers in a public school. In no other public institution in the country is hitting acceptable. Even in maximum security prisons physical punishment is banned. Aren't our children more valuable then dogs and prisoners?

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If my children attended a school where corporal punishment was used as a form of discipline, I would view it in the same light as my mother did: if the school felt one of my children committed a crime that school official felt warranted use of a spanking, they could use the school telephone to call me. I would make that decision and be the one to mete out the discipline if so deserved.

I was sent to the office for a paddling once, in first grade. I had to use the bathroom and my teacher kept telling me no. I got up and went anyway, exactly like my mom told me to do, because I had recurring kidney infections that were causing kidney damage and was on an antibiotic everyday for 2 years. (the next year, I had to have surgery). My mother flew up to that school and read everyone the riot act. She told them it was not their job to spank her daughter, if they felt a spanking was deserved, to call her, she would make the decision and do the spanking.

I use all manners of discipline with my 4 and 6 yr olds. I use time-out, removal of beloved items or activities, lectures (my 6 yr old's fave) and sometimes I spank. But it is my judgement when a spanking is necessary. I don't trust the school system to make that call. Simply calling my daughter out in front of other people is punishment enough, usually. Lay a hand on her, and you'll have to deal with me!

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My initial reaction is no. I am horrified at the thought. I think of the stringent religious right and their stern, forbidding and often exclusionary attitudes with rising nausea. Quoting Dobson, with or without his doctorate title persuades me not in the least. I was raised by a mother who did not spank, but who imposed penalties which I dreaded. They were not frequent as I grew older. My grandmother, however, loved to hit my legs with a swtich, and was known to have spanked when I refused to take medicine my mother had not condoned. I grew away from my grandmother.
My school did not use corporal punishment, either, and we were in Tennessee. Moreover, it was a religious school,
All that having been said, what is happening in public schools is just outrageous. There are kids there who have no breeding at home, and who are therefore out of control from the moment they enter the classroom. Do I think paddling will change them? NO! Those problems are far too deep seated for a paddling to correct. Some are totally ignored at home, and others probably beaten. Like animals, they respond by becoming more resentful and recalcitrant of those who neglect and/or abuse them.
SO, the problem is not corporal vs non corporal punishment. It is much deeper, much more serious.
I close with one example, the quote will have to have the epithet
deleted: A new teacher attended at Job Fair in a public elementary school She was newly engaged and wearing her ring. As she entered the kindergarten classroom--KINDERGARTEN classroom--
a FIVE year old ran up to her, grabbed her hand and said, "Give me that ring you b....." Tell me, would paddling change a child so impoverished of breeding? I think not. The young teacher did NOT accept a position there. In fact, she is employed outside the classroom.

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I DONT BELIEVE IN BEATING, BUT HOLDING BACK PUNISHING IS THE CAUSE OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT IT IS WRONG TO CORRECT, I HAVE RAISED 4 SONS, I HAVE 12 GRANDCHILDREN,9 GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. DO I SPANK ? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT , I LOVE THEM ALL TOO MUCH TO HAVE THEM GROW UP ACTING LIKE WILD ANIMALS, THEY LOVE TO COME TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE, WE BAKE COOKIES,, WE MAKE FUDGE WE MAKE OUR BEDS AND PICK UP AFTER OURSELVES, WE GO SHOPPING AND TO THE ZOO SOMETIMES WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD 2 YEARS AGO.I HAVE 1 SON THAT IS A MINISTER I WORKS ON THE RAILROAD 2 ARE IN BUSINESS FOR THEMSELVES,
I WOULD RATHER PAT THEIR BOTTOMS THAT HAVE THEM END UP IN PROSON OR WORSE,, THE BIBLE SAYS SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD, I BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS A BETTER REFERENCE THAN THE INTERNET, MY COMPUTER HAS A REFERENCE TO WHAT THEY SAY AND DO WHILE ON LINE AT MY HOUSE,

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Our family is committed to raising awareness and bringing about positive change for transparency, accountability and responsibility of Government Officials regarding the urgent need for Nationwide Uniform Standards that ensure Equal Access/Civil Rights of ALL Children in U.S. Schools. ALL children must have access to safe, healthy and supportive learning environments. The state legislatures of 29 states have abolished corporal punishment in schools. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has proposed a school paddling ban tied to education funding, if approved, Ohio will be the 30th state to ban school paddling.

I am the mother of 3 school-aged children and our family resides in a paddling school district in Middle Tennessee. Two of our children attend middle school where paddling is administered routinely for minor infractions just outside of classrooms in the hallway. In our complacency, we never dreamed that Corporal (Physical) Punishment (Paddling with a wooden board) would be necessary for any of our 3 children at school, as they are intelligent, reasonable and well behaved. One year ago, I received a call from my 13 year old son's middle school assistant principal informing me that she was about to administer a paddling to him for going outside with his class when he was told to stay in. We were only called at our son's insistence, as all of our children have been taught from an early age that no one has the right to touch them, they can say no, get away and tell someone in order to protect them from sexual abuse. I informed her that we do not paddle our children and did not want them to. She insisted that he must still be "Punished" and we agreed upon an acceptable form of "Discipline" that did not involve physical punishment. We immediately wrote to Federal, State and Local Government Officals and Elected Representatives only to receive responses that tell us "By LAW, it is the responsibility of our Local School District Board of Education to adopt policies regarding the administration and operation of local schools. We have written to our local school district's Board Members of several occasions and made a verbal/written presentation at their board meeting on April 14, 2008 during "Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month" to demand they take action to prohibit corporal punishment of children in our county schools and to date, we have received NO RESPONSE.

Since the beginning of 2009 our 12 year old daughter has told of 2 paddling incidents that took place in the hallway just outside of her classroom and she told us the students names and the number of blows they received as she could overhear them. Teachers verbally threaten students with physical punishment and show them wooden paddles with holes drilled into them that they keep in their desk drawers. How is my child supposed to learn in an atmosphere filled with fear? Our family does not physically punish or hit our children and we do not feel that paddling is effective, it doesn't make the child turn in missing work, improve grades or teach them appropriate behavior. In fact, the paddled child probably feels humiliated and resentful of the teacher who paddled him. I am very concerned about paddling taking place in schools because it is not regulated in any manner and it's just plain wrong. We tell our children not to hit. Educators who hit students with weapons (wooden paddles) to deliberately inflict physical pain and suffering intended to punish them powerfully model physical assault/violence to schoolchildren as the acceptable way to solve problems. Schools and teachers who purchase weapons (wooden paddles) with tax payer funds and possess/use them are in direct conflict/violation of Zero Tolerance of Weapons in Schools Policies.

As members of Tennesseans for Nonviolent School Discipline, we worked on letters to editors of newspapers in paddling school districts in Middle Tennessee to inform citizens of the U.S. Department of Education, Office For Civil Rights paddling statistics as reported by schools in their community and what they can do to protect their children. The reported number of paddling incidents is staggering! Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a report titled "A Violent Education" on 8/20/08 with recommendations to Government Officials to Immediately Abolish Corporal Punishment (Paddling) in U.S. Schools. The report cites U.S. Department of Education, Office For Civil Rights statistics where schools reported disciplining over 223,190 students by hitting, spanking or similar means for such minor infractions as chewing gum or violating school dress codes.

Tragically, current news headlines regarding investigations taking place in the Chicago Public School System include HUNDREDS of incidents of child abuse reported in schools and a 9 year old boy in Decatur Co., GA suffered deep bruising at Potter Street Elementary School when the ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PADDLED HIM 3 TIMES IN ONE DAY!

The cost to eliminate educators right to assault and batter schoolchildren is $0.

Our family is thankful to educators who refrain from physical punishment of schoolchildren. According to an important new report on physical punishment of children in the U.S., read the full report at www.phoenixchildrens.com/discipline, the majority of American adults are opposed to physical punishment by school personnel. The report has been endorsed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the National Association of Regulatory Boards and others. There is a growing momentum among other countries to enact legal bans on all forms of physical punishment, bolstered by the fact that the practice has come to be regarded as a violation of international human rights law. There is little research evidence that physical punishment improves children's behavior in the long term. In contrast, there is substantial research evidence that physical punishment puts children at risk for negative outcomes, including increased aggression, antisocial behavior, mental health problems, and physical injury. The clear connections between physical abuse and physical punishment that have been made in empirical research and in the child abuse statutes of several states suggest that reduction in parents' use of physical punishment should be included as intergral parts of state and federal child abuse prevention efforts. For alternative discipline strategies, please visit www.stophitting.org. Thank You!

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When I was a kid in NYC in the early 70`s, corporeal punishment was very popular. I had 1 teacher that tried to hit me with his hand, I told him to back off . He did not listen he hit me hard with his fist on my back and dropped me to the ground I got up and slammed him in the head with a steel chair that sent him into a plate glass window. The school district filed a suit against me, I counter sued them for me defending my self. I made life as lawfully miserable as I could. I won the suite and when i got done with them , they wished I was never born.

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I believe that it was a mistake to remove corporal punishment from the schools the way they have. Kids were better behaved and more respectful because they understood readily what the consequences would be if they didn't behave.

I was paddled in junior high school twice. Once for talking in class and the second time for swearing.

That's all it took were two times and I learned not to act up. I think today's kids are actually receiving a disservice because we don't correct them. Sooner or later they have to learn. Its always easier to learn while you are young--even if it involves a little pain.

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