Banning Corporal Punishment!
STOP CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, IT MAY HAPPEN TO YOU!
What is corporal punishment? The National Association of School Nurses defines it as ?the intentional infliction of physical pain as a method of changing behavior. It may include methods such as hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, pinching, shaking, use of various objects (paddles, belts, sticks, or others), or painful body postures."Fact: Corporal punishment is still legal in twenty states.
While corporal punishment such as paddling, spanking and hitting students disappeared from private schools by the 1960s, it is still permitted in public schools in 20 states. Why is this so? There is no easy answer to that question. If you look at the map on The Center for Effective Discipline's site, you will see that corporal punishment is still legal in southern and western states east of the Rockies. The northern and west coast states made corporal punishment in their schools illegal in the 1970s and 1980s.
Fact: The United States is the only nation in the western world which still permits corporal punishment in its schools.
Canada banned corporal punishment in 2004. No European country permits corporal punishment. So far, the United States Congress has not acted on requests from organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union to enact federal legislation banning corporal punishment. Since education is widely viewed as a local and state matter, any further banning of corporal punishment will probably have to occur at that level. If, on the other hand, the federal government were to withhold funding from states where corporal punishment is legal, the local authorities might be more inclined to pass the appropriate laws.
The Rationale for Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment in one form or another has been around schools for centuries. It certainly is not a new issue. In the Roman Family "children learned by imitation and corporal punishment". Religion also plays a role in the history of disciplining children by spanking or hitting them. Many people interpret Proverbs 13:24 literally when it states: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
20 States Still Permit Beating
The following twenty states still have laws on their books permitting corporal punishment in schools:
?Alabama
?Arizona
?Arkansas
?Colorado
?Florida
?Georgia
?Idaho
?Indiana
?Kansas
?Kentucky
?Louisiana
?Mississippi
?Missouri
?New Mexico
?North Carolina
?Oklahoma
?South Carolina
?Tennessee
?Texas
?Wyoming
What is ironic about this situation is that no accredited teachers' college in the U.S. advocates the use of corporal punishment. If they don't teach the use of corporal punishment in the classroom, why is the use of it still legal?
Why Should Corporal Punishment Be Banned?
Corporal punishment should be banned for the following reasons:
1. It has no place in the education of children.
2. It perpetuates the cycle of abuse.
It Has No Place in the Education of Children.
While corporal punishment such as paddling, spanking and hitting students disappeared from private schools by the 1960s, it is still permitted in public schools in 20 states. Why is this so? There is no easy answer to that question. If you look at the map on The Center for Effective Discipline's site, you will see that corporal punishment is still legal in southern and western states east of the Rockies. The northern and west coast states made corporal punishment in their schools illegal in the 1970s and 1980s.
Fact: The United States is the only nation in the western world which still permits corporal punishment in its schools.
Canada banned corporal punishment in 2004. No European country permits corporal punishment. So far, the United States Congress has not acted on requests from organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union to enact federal legislation banning corporal punishment. Since education is widely viewed as a local and state matter, any further banning of corporal punishment will probably have to occur at that level. If, on the other hand, the federal government were to withhold funding from states where corporal punishment is legal, the local authorities might be more inclined to pass the appropriate laws.
The Rationale for Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment in one form or another has been around schools for centuries. It certainly is not a new issue. In the Roman Family "children learned by imitation and corporal punishment". Religion also plays a role in the history of disciplining children by spanking or hitting them. Many people interpret Proverbs 13:24 literally when it states: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
20 States Still Permit Beating
The following twenty states still have laws on their books permitting corporal punishment in schools:
?Alabama
?Arizona
?Arkansas
?Colorado
?Florida
?Georgia
?Idaho
?Indiana
?Kansas
?Kentucky
?Louisiana
?Mississippi
?Missouri
?New Mexico
?North Carolina
?Oklahoma
?South Carolina
?Tennessee
?Texas
?Wyoming
What is ironic about this situation is that no accredited teachers' college in the U.S. advocates the use of corporal punishment. If they don't teach the use of corporal punishment in the classroom, why is the use of it still legal?
Why Should Corporal Punishment Be Banned?
Corporal punishment should be banned for the following reasons:
1. It has no place in the education of children.
2. It perpetuates the cycle of abuse.
It Has No Place in the Education of Children.
View Comments