Corporal Punishment

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in 1993 Illinois enacted a law that bans corporal punishment in public schools. Most people would assume that this put an end to all corporal punishment in Illinois. State Board of Education spokeswoman Kim Knauer said that the law bans "slapping, paddling or prolonged maintenance of students in physically painful positions." (Robinson) Unfortunately, due to a loophole, this is not necessarily the case. The law allows school districts to apply for an exemption if they want to continue to paddle the students. George Ryan, current governor of Illinois, in a 1998 article, said that some school districts have asked to be exempted from the ban. But he said that state lawmakers have refused to do so thus far.

There will always be people who feel that they are above the law. Because of that, it is naive to think that corporal punishment has been eliminated in Illinois or any of the other states where is has been banned. Within the district I work, there are strict guidelines regarding the use of corporal punishment. It is simply not tolerated. Classroom management plans are turned in to the principal at the start of the year. The plans have to include the rules and both positive and negative consequences. The plan must be posted in the classroom the entire school year. I have only been in the district five years, but according to Diane Fulton, district 186 indoctrinated all teachers with Canter’s AD procedures in the 1980’s.  The district had mandatory after school workshops in the early 80’s that strongly advocated and reinforced the AD concept. Assertive discipline is based on "the potential, positive influence that teachers can have on the behavior of their students". Teachers take charge in a positive manner. (Haberkorn) There is no room for corporal punishment in district 186.

Research shows that corporal punishment is an ineffective method of discipline.  The following is an excerpt from the position paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine:

There is no clear evidence that such punishment effectuates more discipline or better control in the classroom. Physically punishing children has never been shown to enhance moral character development, increase the student's respect for teachers or other authority figures in general, or intensify the teacher's control in class. Such children, in our view, are being physically and mentally abused and there are no data actually demonstrating that such victims develop enhanced social skills or self-control skills. Current research concludes that corporal punishment is not always a method of last resort, and that there is not an increase in violence in schools which reject use of this technique. There are many effective alternatives to corporal punishment, and it is possible for school authorities to learn them and for children to benefit from such techniques.

Corporal punishment is a degrading and humiliating treatment. Some children, upon seeing an adult in authority behave this way toward a child, interpret it as a license for them to do the same. For this reason, the use of corporal punishment promotes bullying and cruelty among children. Schools are role models for their communities. They should set the highest possible standard. When teacher violence is condoned, abusive parents and other abusive adults feel exonerated. Corporal punishment in the schools promotes child abuse in the general community. (Riak)

Reading on punishment has driven me to reflect on my views of punishment. I believe that corporal punishment should be banned everywhere in the United States. It does more harm than good and is often used for minor infractions. Educators should be taking charge in a positive manner.

References:

Websites:

American Academy of Pediatrics

Haberkorn, Jennifer. Lesson 2 - Question 2: Assertive Discipline.

Fulton, Diane. Lesson 2 Question 2.

The National PTA. Corporal Punishment - Myths and Realities(1991)

Society for Adolescent Medicine, Journal of Adolescent Health: 1992; 13:240-246. (On internet)

Robinson, Mike. Poshard Would Let Schools Paddle Pupils. Associated Press, 27 August 1998.

Riak, Jordan. TWENTY GOOD REASONS TO STOP A BAD PRACTICE