Comment: Corporal punishment is essentially a barbaric practice that causes a host of psychological issues and slows cognitive development. It's banned in a large number of countries, and for good reason:
- Child abuse: There should be no debate about corporal punishment
- Corporal punishment is back with a vengeance: School resource officers assault kids with impunity
- Research conclusive that spanking children is detrimental as it promotes antisocial behaviour and slows mental development
- Spanking Linked to More Aggression in Kids
- Spanking undermines trust and compassion
- Spanking children slows cognitive development and increases risk of criminal behavior, expert says
"The school nurse, as an advocate for the health and well-being of students, must take the position that corporal punishment places students at risk for negative outcomes, including increased aggression, antisocial behavior, mental health problems and physical injury," the National Association of School Nurses wrote in a statement.
In 2015, in 19 states across the nation, it is perfectly legal for school administrators to assault children with a wooden board across their bottom. Many would consider this child abuse, and it likely would be, if done by a parent at home.
"Institutional corporal punishment of children should be considered a form of child abuse that is contrary to current knowledge of human behavior and sound educational practices," the American Bar Association has stated.Yet, this practice is still being used. A lot.
In Greenwood, Mississippi, for example, the handbook reads:
"Corporal punishment for use in this district is defined as punishing or correcting a student by striking the student on the buttocks with a paddle."
Such punishment, it goes on, must be carried out by the principal or assistant principal and "shall not exceed five swats with a paddle." The punishment does not constitute "assault, simple assault, aggravated assault, battery, negligence or child abuse," according to the handbook.A report by the Washington Post found that on average, a child is hit in a United States public school once every 30 seconds.
This outdated means of discipline is practiced in diverse states across the nation, but appears to be most predominate in the south: the states engaging in the abuse most frequently are Mississippi (18.73% of total paddlings in the U.S.), Alabama (16.34%), Georgia (7.36%), and Texas (17.13%).
The Post also pointed out that the top three paddling states also have the highest number of black students, and "[b]lacks constitute about 16% of public school students in the United States but 35% of those who receive corporal punishment."
Personally, I get rapidly emotionally fatigued by politely asking my kids not to participate in hazardous life threatening behavior like blindly wandering into traffic on their bicycles or hiding from mom in super-stores. While I tend to ask for compliance politely anywhere from 4 to 14 times, there comes a moment when I decide they aren't getting the message or the message is too critical to be mildly volleyed to and fro like a shuttle-cock repeatedly to butterfly-chasing, unfocused, naive, and ignorant, children, nor do I believe certain realities are to be tendered to the prepubescent for an amateur apologetics hour, and compliance is then dictated by force. Maybe the author of this article isn't familiar with the rank stupidity and dangerous behavior children are prone to? My son is 10, and I haven't spanked him in years (3 or 4?). It's not my preferred choice of behavior modification. In fact, I hate it, and I'm sorry to say that sometimes it is the most logical and effective tool I've got to deal with some of the most outlandish, rude, violent, dangerous, and irritating behavior children are prone to. I still have a life too, you know. There are just some things I cannot tolerate, and ritalin and paxil are not the healthy substitutes for discipline people would like to believe they are.