Should Corporal Punishment ( hitting ) be allowed in Schools..

[Swanspirit]

Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools??? do you think that a teacher should be allowed to strike a child in order to provide discipline .........and if so ..... how regulated?? And for what purposes ??
Love and Light
Swannie

[loopy]

Absolutely not, under no circumstances. Unless you've given birth to a child, you have no right to touch them at all.

[Lilu]

No. I will choose to discipline my children the way that I want them to be disciplined. My opinion is that teachers have in the past abused corporal punishment when it was available, and I would not trust them to know when it should and shouldn't be used on my child, or anyone else's.

BB
Lilu

[Swanspirit]

in so many states??? I know Colorado is one . and that there are others..... I Just dont have a list handy........ I personally dont beleive in hitting .. sothe idea of allowing the "school" to do it... is out of the question......
Love and light
Swannie

[Avena]

...it's always wrong to hit a child, even if you gave birth to him/her! But in school it's more than inappropriate, no matter for what reason. Too many children already hate going to school even if corporal punishment isn't legalized in their state, so how do students feel about going to school who already received corporal punishments?! Not to mention the very bad role model hitting teachers embody.

[Emerald Sky]

Wow, this one got my pulse going. I'm very opposed to anyone striking a child for any reason. If a parent chooses to discipline their child in that way, (as long as it's within reason) I don't stick my nose (or opinion) in, I don't approve of it, and I don't like it, but I won't condemn someone else for how they discipline their children.

However, I know many people who are opposed to spanking or hitting or any kind of physical punishment. For a school teacher to be allowed to do that is just WRONG! Yeah, if someone hit my child there would be a lawsuit! That's all I'm going to say on the subject because I don't want to get too worked up about it.

[MammaStar]

I think I'm more shocked that a school/state would even consider if this was okay. It's not. No one hits my kid. Talk about a mamma bear defending her cubs, anyone who hurt my son would have to try & run, cause I'd find them and.....

well you get the point

[Lavender]

No way! Never! No matter what the circumstances! I don't hit my child. I'm not going to let someone else do it. As LdyStarlite said...ditto! Nothing scarier in this world than a mad momma! :D

[Laiste]

No way! I don't even hit my child...never mind give someone else permission to. Don't think so!

[Swanspirit]

From the American Academy of Pediatrics......
which States have a ban.......
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/corpchrt.htm
Love and light......
and who is voting FOR this stuff is what I wanna know........ and in the catholic schools I attended, the nuns were allowed to hit ...


Love and Light
Swannie

[Margie]

I also attended a Catholic school. The nuns were allowed not only to hit, but also publicly humiliate you-I once had to get on my knees in front of the class and kneel in front of the blackboard because I talked in church.

[Avena]

Originally posted by Margie
I also attended a Catholic school. The nuns were allowed not only to hit, but also publicly humiliate you-I once had to get on my knees in front of the class and kneel in front of the blackboard because I talked in church.

pure sadism :mad:

[Myst]

I was raised with the understanding that sometimes physical punishment is necessary (ie. a slap for trying to stick my finger in a light socket or play with breakable items). But a teacher's responsibility is NOT raising my child.

[Emerald Sky]

Whew, MI has banned corporal punishment in schools! Woo-hoo!

[Swanspirit]

and whipping and beating and other physical punishnments have been removed as penalties for commiting crimes from laws for many years......... and yet we allow it to happen with children in our schools??? ......
Just making a point .... although at this point I do realise I am preaching to the choir so to speak ......
Love and light
Swannie

[Lavender]

Originally posted by Myst
I was raised with the understanding that sometimes physical punishment is necessary (ie. a slap for trying to stick my finger in a light socket or play with breakable items). But a teacher's responsibility is NOT raising my child.

Same here. I have "smacked" small fingers for touching where they shouldn't. A tap on the hands is not the same as getting the strap. It's very demeaning to the child. I don't think corporal punishment would ever come back here. There are other much more effective forms of discipline.

Sheesh! I get huffy when people look sideways at my son! I can't imagine what I'll do if a teacher hit him! :p

[Old Witch]

No. Not ever. Never. Get you killed in a heartbeat!



:elf:

[faeriedust]

no, nobody better hit my girls, especially a school official!!!!!!!!

[Da Witch]

I almost never "hit" my child, I'll be damned if I'm going to let a teacher hit her. There are more effective methods of discipline.

[Da Witch]

Originally posted by Margie
I also attended a Catholic school. The nuns were allowed not only to hit, but also publicly humiliate you-I once had to get on my knees in front of the class and kneel in front of the blackboard because I talked in church.


I used to attend a Catholic Elementary school also and my 4th grade nun would smack the kids on the hand with a YARD STICK. She was psychotic. But the thought back then was........If you pissed off a nun then you must've deserved what you got!

[kittiepoetrygod]

No.

1) If you're not someones parent and are an adult, you should have the self control it takes to express yourself through words and not pain.

2) You have NO right to touch someone or harm someone that didn't come from a part of you that is younger than you in a learning -- or any -- enviroment.

3) If you're supposed to teach a child, to make them fear you is not the way to do it at all!

Words can't express how strongly i feal against this. If someone hit me in my school that was supposed to be teaching me, or if they hit one of my future children, there would be absolute hell to pay. Am I allowed to say that? If not i'll edit it out. But If someone ever did, Goddess give them money to recover to when I sue the shirt of their back.

[HerbGurl]

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD A CHILD BE HIT!!!!!!!
Sorrry about the title, but this is something that I feel VERY VERY strongly about. :flamer:
My mother was a Special Ed teacher for years. I myself was a special- needs child. When I was in the 4th grade, my gross motor and fine motor skills were at the level of a five year old. Mentally I was brillant. I was reading books at a college level. I was brillant in reading and vocabulry. My mind was light years ahead of my body.

My personal story does not involve hitting, but it shows how destructive abuse by a teacher can be on a child. When I was in the fifth grade, I could not find my math homework. My teacher grew irritated with me when I could not find it. After letting me rummage through my desk for five mintues, she grew SO angry, she grabbed me by the hand and to the back of the classroom where the bookbags were kept. She made me get my bag and dragged by my wrist to the frontof the classroom, unzipped my bag and dumped it out in front of the the entire class. I do not remember this at all, my mother has told me this story many times in hopes of my recalling this, but I cannot. It is a too destructive memory to recall. (She did threaten to sue if it heppened again. The teacher was also fond of dumping dsesks out if they were messy.):flamer:
THe thing is, I wanted to work with computers when I was older like my father, but since then I have always struggled in math as I am afriad of getting the wrong answer and getting punished like that again. :flamer:


Teachers are people who influence a child greatly and they should NOT intill fear in a child. IT IS WRONG TO PHYSICALLY PUNISH A CHILD IF THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND!! Sometimes witht the case of a special needs child, it is beyond thier capabilities to understand what is being explained. It can destroy thier desire to learn and they will be worse off. Teachers should be beacons of hope in a child life, illuminators tot he world of knowledge, not destroyers of hope.
Anyway, that is my 2 cents on the subject. Sorry for the rant, but this is something that I feel VERY strongly about.
Blessings,
HerbGurl

[maythen]

Wow,herbgurl, what a terrible way to treat a child.
I had the mispleasure of attending a baptist fundie school where paddleing was just another part of the day. It was sick. I think the teachers kind of got off on hitting the kids. If one of them got a new paddle, he'd show to the teachers. And they would all admire it, ooohing and ahhing as if it was a new car or something. If a kid was extra bad, he would sometimes be paddled by both the teacher and the principal. I was paddled in the third grade because I forgot my reading homework. My mother raised a big stink, and they never hit me again. So, no no no to corporal punishment.

[Da Witch]

HerbGurl,


I know what it is like being afraid of a teacher. In 3rd grade we had a teacher who was, to speak plainly, a b*t$h. She held much contempt for any child who lived in my town. She pretty much reminded us on a daily basis of how stupid Kearny children were. One time when a boy in the class was acting up she made the entire class sit on the cold, hard floor under the chalk board. When my mother came to pick me up and saw us like that she took all of the kids out of the classroom and I dunno what really happened between her and the teacher, but according to my mother there was a screaming match. Since then she has been moved from school to school to school in Kearny because she causes problems at every school she teaches at. This year she is my little sisters teacher and yet again the parents are having severe problems with her.
One boy in my sisters class was being a kid and making jokes and silly faces in class. This teacher kicked him out of class and told him " If you keep it up you're going to end up just like your mother"

Why she has not had her teaching license revoked is beyond my understanding.

[Demeter]

I have a friend who went to a Jewish religious school and hated it. Every time he asked a question, it was "Sit down and shut up, Moishe!" And they used corporal punishment on him quite frequently, showing him (but not allowing him to read) a paper that they said was a letter from his parents giving him permission to do so. Needless to say, this caused him to be quite hostile to both school and parental authority. It wasn't until years later that he actually mentioned it to them, though. They were horrified. The school had asked them once for permission to spank him for one specific incident. The letter covered only that one time, and specifically stated that it was not a blanket permission. Had they known, they would have pulled him out of there ....

I think for people given to hit, such permission is too easily abused. We all know how many people are prone to strike a child in anger or to enforce authority. How much easier would it be for them to strike someone else's child if given permission? Best not to raise the question at all and protect all the children.

[Kaylara]

Well, when I have kids, not even their father will be able to lay a hand on them. I am super-protective of children, whether their mine or not. If I see someone hit (and there is a difference between hitting and say smacking roaming little fingers) they will wish that they were never born. There is no excuse to beat a child, IMHO.

Kaylara

[Drisel]

NO

[Chibi-Fallon]

Kids smack each other enough anyway. I've got a buddy who's probably lost half his brain capacity to being hit on the back of the head so much. Anyway if teachers could hit us we'd only hate them more. And it would teach little kids that in order to control people you have to hit them.
Granted wether you know it or not our teacher are threatening to hit us all with yard sticks, because we're stupid. Which we are and it's not like we don't deserve it (granted this only goes on in upper grades). Or wack us upside the head like my 8th grade science teacher (he was so cool). Most of the time we deserve it (they probably wouldn't really hit us, but it's like telling us to shut up) my buddy Andy made a "hole of inspicuocity" in his notebook and was looking at people through it during a test, that and he was abusing my pen (it was screaming and everything) and the teacher threatened to take off his head with a yard stick and use it for a paper weight.

[ANUR36]

Oh it angers me to all end to even THINK about a teacher laying hands on my wee ones!!! No way!

[phoenixsong]

Originally posted by Da Witch



I used to attend a Catholic Elementary school also and my 4th grade nun would smack the kids on the hand with a YARD STICK. She was psychotic.

Why is this? All nuns are evil and psychotic! ( Especially my French teacher)

[Pheonix]

I agree wholeheartily, nobody lays a hand on my children but me and even then I only smack fingers for touching the stove and stuff like that.!!! I had a problem like this not long ago with somebody and I stil haven't forgiven her.

[Sequoia]

Ok. Schools hitting kids. . . . because the kids hit other kids. . .

-_-; yeah. That's SO gonna teach them not to hit.

"BUT JESSIE DIDN'T DO HIS HOMEWORK SO I THOUGHT I COULD SMACK HIM LIKE YOU HIT ME!" I can just see it now.

I'm planning on teaching, whether elementary or junior high, I'm not sure yet, but I mean. . . . I would NEVER hit kids. No way. I'm sorry, they're not my children, and as much of a menace as they can be there are far better methods to work with. Hitting them will do nothing but make them and their parents hate ME. And who can learn in an environment like that?

And NOBODY better lay a hand on my someday kids. Nobody. A smack on the back of the hand for doing something they were repeatedly told NOT to, esp. for danger reasons, I think I aprove of. But no way will my kids be getting spanks. No way will they be slapped across teh face. Swearing? That's what liquid soap is for. My kids won't be hit. Period. And anybody who tries is going to have two very pissed parents suing them or kicking their @ss.

[Adam Of Avalon]

Absolutely not. Period.

[WolfWoman]

No kids yet, but it's simple... you hit my kids, I hit you...

[Flar's Freyja]

There are schools in my state that are still doing this, believe it or not. :ack: And parents here who have no problem with it. I have a problem with anyone else disciplining my children - as evidenced by my losing a boyfriend or two!

[Angelwulfe]

no freakin way. no one lays a hand on my child not even or the baby's father or my father for that matter. the school i went to got a little border line with it they would never admit it but they did. my teachers never hit anyone. but a couple would drag the kids across the floor out into the hall. also i had a teacher who would hit whack a ruler really hard on your desk next to me which got pretty frightning*at times even though i was never hit. he'd constantly yell at us to. i was terrified of that teacher.

[Ravensnest]

I'm not a big believer in spanking anyway. So I really have a problem with it on so many levels. But, the main thing is I've seen too many teachers take a bad day out on a kid who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. What's more, I've seen teachers get away with striking a child in a manner that a parent would risk losing their child for and it's okay for the teacher.. NOT. All I can say is I wouldn't want to be the teacher that ever attempts to use this sort of punishment on my child.. it won't be pretty!

[Imagi]

It cracks me up . . . Parents can be jailed and/or have their kids taken away because they disipline by hitting, and yet there are so many states where it's legal for the kids' teachers to do it to them.

If anyone ever laid a hand (or anything else, for that matter) on my child, my wrath would never end. They would beg for death.

[Echohawk]

If ANYBODY ever had the lack of intelligence to strike one of my children, they'd find themselves in jail/the emergency room so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. I don't even allow my husband to hit them.

Hitting children is so damned primitive. Whatever happened to those little things called consequences? Chores? Priveleges removed? A stern talking-to? What is this world coming to??

[Djiril]

No! I have had many teachers, some good, some bad. But none who I would trust not to misuse that right. Even the good ones have their judgement impaired by frustration sometimes.

[Haedis]

For some children who get abused at home...school is their only safe-haven from such things. If they were to institute corporal punishment, the child wouldn't be able to escape abusive environments. The kid would probably end up becoming violent towards their future spouse and children. Even worse than that...they might just snap some day. Can you say...Columbine revisited? Its hard ENOUGH for kids growing up these days. I shudder to think.

[Dancin Girl]

No! Plain and simple, absolutely positively not ever!!! In the state I love in, it is not allowed so it there was never a question, debate or problem with it. It is my responsibility to teach my children, discipline them, guide them, ensure their safety and health- both physical and emotional.... it is the school's responsiblity to teach, to provide a safe secure learning environment for the children, and to inform me if there is a problem with my child that needs to be adressed. I wouldn't even let them keep my child after school with out discussing it with me first!

[Mythrel]

I'm probably gonna catch some heat on this one, but I totally support corporal punishment. I think it should be used as a tool in society in general...I see no problem with being sentenced for a crime to get 10 lashings in public...the humilation and pain will be more of a deterent than prison...look at prison over crowding as it is....if we were to implement corporal punishment as a society I believe crime rates on the more petty crimes would drop dramatically...

back on subject, I voted that it should be with permission from the parents... growing up it still happened in my school until I was in 4th or 5th grade. And it was great...the kids feared being sent to the principle for fear of getting spanked with a wooden paddle that 99.9 percent never stepped over that fine line of being a troublemaker and being a juvenile delinquent...I think it helped raise the kids to think there actions thru better than to think "they can't do anything to me" or "all they ever do is threaten and yell, never any action, I can do whatever I want"

those 2 hypothetical statements I believe are becoming the foundation for kids these days...I worry about the future with this many bullies and irresponsible kids running around

enough rambling
Mythrel

[Djiril]

If it were to be used in schools, I think that we would have to be much more careful who we allowed to be teachers. I have had several teachers who were very unfair with their punishments, and others who were total psychos.
My fifth and sixth grade teacher used to punish the whole class if only two people talked or acted up.
I can't even count the times I was forced to write, "I will not talk in class." 500 times, and I never talked in class! I was so shy that I sometimes didn't even talk when I was called on and I knew the answer!
There are some teachers out there who see all students as their sworn enemies and will punish them for anything, and don't even gety me started on the substitutes.
When we can get good teachers who will be patient with their students and will not abuse the right, then we can talk about corporal punishment.

[emaleth33]

I dont disagree with paddling if it is deserved and i think the parent should be notified before time, because only the parent can say if it is deserved. I live in a state that is about at least ten years behind in some areas and i swear they make up their own laws as they go along. My child was once paddled for being on the wrong page. I let everybody i could see and that could hear me (which was a pretty good distance) that my child would not be in that class any longer and if he couldnt be moved from the class i would remove him from the school...and i did which is not an easy thing to do in these backwoods places... Goddess I MISS CIVILIZATION!!!!!!!
Emaleth33

[Emaleth]

I don't have my own children yet, but as a teacher I can't imagine hitting students. It never helps, IMO. Even if a child is quiet for a short time after spanking, it stays in him and will go out sooner or later. I believe in positive reinforcement rather than negative:D

Blessed Be

[LadyWinter]

I was spanked once in school...I tried to tell the teacher to call my mom but NOOOOOOOOOO she wouldnt.....My mom found out and was MAD......I spank my kids if I want too but no one else does.

Slan Astar
LadyWinter

[Al_Chemist]

A tricky subject. I'm a pacifist, abhorring violence completely (though that's not to say I don't get violent urges when pissed off). However, there are some kids who only respect the power of fear, and will bow their heads to scary teachers, so a new way of controlling them needs to be found, without hurting them. Threatening them with suspension, expulsion or the warning that they'll not be able to get a decent job isn't going to work against the kids who don't want to be in school anyway.

Al

[Brujaverde]

I agree with loopy but even then there are limits. But I like the positive reinforcement & in my experiance it is more effective if used from the beginning. My youngest about to turn 5 male & a taurus no less is an absolute Monster!! But if you now how to ask he's putty.

[Bryony]

I have no kids, am still in high school, etc.
it is NOT RIGHT! It could teach a child that it is aok to hit someone else, and that is just not right. Children are in school to learn good habits, not abuse for misbehavior!

[Flaire]

I don't think it should be...There should be other disiplinary methods brought in though... I mean..sending people out in the hall because they were disobeying classroom rules - that's what they *want*...

it is NOT RIGHT! It could teach a child that it is aok to hit someone else, and that is just not right. Children are in school to learn good habits, not abuse for misbehavior!

That's true...Especially for younger children..They pick up things from their teachers and other mentors..If they see them hitting someone else, they'll eventually think it's okay and do it themselves. :huh: Odd the way the mind works sometimes.

[Cats' mother]

As a teacher, I used to think that there was a place for the whole aspect of corporal punishment - if it was done under controlled conditions and all that blah-blah that some of us subscribe to - what really put me off the whole thing was seeing the faces of people light up at the prospect of kids being given a hiding when they "deserved" it. I was amazed that people, in schools that I thought would be able to set an example as it were could have such sadistic urges. It scares me - that and the whole abuse of power that is currently occuring in SA when the current rape stats are released and teachers top the poll - I know that that is the number of people who actually report the rape - but it sickens me that people who have the potential to create and mould people at a young age are abusing that power. I get very angry on this issue - so enough!

[Ben Gruagach]

The thing that clinches it for me that hitting kids in school is never called for is the simple fact that there are lots of places where it's illegal to hit kids, and kids who go to schools where there is no hitting do NOT turn out to be "bad kids" by any stretch of the imagination.

If those schools can get the kids through successfully without hitting, then so can the schools that are using hitting now.

[mythril]

I agree

Physically punishing a child makes a huge impact on their development. We might say, oh it doesnt really matter, the child deserved it for being naughty but i seriously dont think that the child would have the same thought.

There are many growns ups , some of which are here in this forum who still have lucid memories of their punishment.

I think it is absolutely wrong.

[Bahamut04640]

HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(! = top of my lungs, !! = Double that)

they bust be hearing me loud and clear from pluto!...lol

[Mnemosyne]

:eek: As a teacher, I could never imagine laying a finger on someone else's child. I am totally against corporal punishment at schools. So many children have to go home to such unpleasant, unloving conditions; therefore, a school should be a more favorable place for the children. I have found that kids are more likely to give you the "desired" behavior when they are praised for what they are doing well instead of being punished for what they are doing wrong.

[Twilight Garden]

I find it ironic that a parent can get investigated for abuse after a minor spanking, yet a teacher would be able to spank. Um, that just boggles my open mind. I'm one of those, "there's no need to spank" parental types. I have no problem with a parent that does it to their own child on occaision, I just always seem to have fine success without it. Giving a school the right to do so on children is just outrageous. (IMHO, of course.)

[Skye]

I believe there should be way more disipline in our schools and in our homes, I am not saying it is right to abuse children, but a well placed hand on the arse can make a huge difference in a child behaviour.

Think about it, When I was younger we went to school with the confidence to know if we miss behaved we would be punished, not only by the teacher, but our parents as well. I think there was more communication between teachers and parents back then.

Anyways, this is just my opinion, and I was certainly whacked as a child, and I would have never dreamed of any type of relaliation against either my teachers, nor my parents, lest I get wacked even more.

Maybe school shootings have something to do with a general lack of dicipline and authority asserted by parents and teachers alike.

by the way, I am a parent of a grown child who understood what a whack on the arse was, and she turned out just fine, so has my granddaughters, who also respect authority.

OK, I am done ranting....time to bash my opinions:D

[Badgerval]

I won't bash your opinions (or anyones!) but I will disagree with you :)

I believe that violence breeds violence, There are plenty of people who have never been hit who don't go on to be delinquent or criminal. I never hit my daughter - and she is wonderful. I think that hitting children only shows them that it is OK to use superior size and strength to enforce ones own wishes. I work with very damaged (and delinquent) young people - and have *no* problem establishing authority without raising a finger - I show them respect and they respond to it.

The problems of todays society are *much* more complex than whether children are hit or not - my own view is that it is more to do with the breakdown in community - but thats probabl;y another thread

[Skye]

Originally posted by Badgerval
I won't bash your opinions (or anyones!) but I will disagree with you :)

The problems of todays society are *much* more complex than whether children are hit or not - my own view is that it is more to do with the breakdown in community - but thats probabl;y another thread

Yes community, and communication.

Well put Badgerval.

[SerenityMoon]

what i think in general:
1) slapping in the face: extremely humiliating and hurtful to the soul, and should never be done. i was never slapped in the face as a child, and when i have children i will never do it to them. why do you think we have the phrase "it was like a slap in the face"?
2) spanking: sometimes, a slap on the arse DOES do some good. i'm not saying flip your kid over your knee and whack him 5 times. i'm saying a smack on the bottom if the kid REALLY is acting out DELIBERATELY. i would never use a belt, paddle, or any other means than my hand. that's just cowardly.
3) smack on hand: ok for small children if they are doing something that endangers them and they keep doing it deliberately.
4) corporal punishment in schools: that's a toughie. I think if the parent consents and it is also THEIR way of discipline, then it's really not our business. you may not agree with it, but it IS their child, and until it becomes downright abusive, it' snot our place. but if there is no parental consent, then it's completely wrong.

[Night_Goddess]

Interesting question/topic:
First consider.... Doesn't hitting end all dialogue? Second, after hearing what a friend said about the ages/stages of growth and development in children....the first task is to establish trust. What does hitting do to trust?
Third, if the relationship between yourself and any child is to be formed by the bonds of love, hitting is out of the question. Completely. Not a part of the 'vocabulary' of effective parenting.

[banondraig]

Interesting question/topic:
First consider.... Doesn't hitting end all dialogue? Second, after hearing what a friend said about the ages/stages of growth and development in children....the first task is to establish trust. What does hitting do to trust?
Third, if the relationship between yourself and any child is to be formed by the bonds of love, hitting is out of the question. Completely. Not a part of the 'vocabulary' of effective parenting.

wow. great point, Night_Goddess.

i might add: while it may not be the most enlightened, civilized way of doing things, if anyone were ever to hit MY (future) children, i would need someone to help raise bail money.

[morrigen]

Absolutely not, under no circumstances. Unless you've given birth to a child, you have no right to touch them at all.

Bingo. Exactly how I feel.

[BrenaSidhe]

---Way back when I went to Lutheran School, they had just passed a law where the parents had to give permission, for a child to be hit in school...
The pastor/teachers/and counselors all tried bullying my parnets into signing the paper, but they wouldn't... My dad said if anyones gonna hit my kid, it's gonna be ME!!! Now as a child I only recieved ONE REAL spanking ever, for acidently poking his dog in the eye with a stick...
I had the choise of being spanked and getting punnishment over with, or being grounded for a week or two...

---No kids should NOT be hit in schools, public or private...

--- I saw one kid get paddled in front of the entire class at that Lutheran school, and made up my mind then that if they ever tried, I'd fight!
The boys pants were dropped in front of everyone and the big wooden paddle with holes came off the wall, he screamed bloody murder... Afterwards falling to the floor and rolling into the fetal postion, the teacher literaly shoved him down between desks to his seat, with his foot... Then bellowed [X-opera singer] to get his pants up and sit down, before he got 10 more swats...
That kid couldn't harly walk for a week...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAY should this ever happen!

[~*Ginger*~]

In grade school i got paddled for something I did not do. (once)
The teacher would not even consider listening to me.

Every year, I write 'them' a note state-ing that if my child needs a paddling they better call me before they do so, and I better be present!

They better not strike my child, lessen they want a major crazy woman in their mists!

[Antoninus]

I dont have kids, but when I do, if ANYBODDY lays a finger on my kid, they die, no questions asked here. Its up to the school to TEACH the kid, NOT to punish him, that my job as the parent.

[dragonkin]

Never in this lifetime will anybody but me decide if its appropriate to strike my child. I would be in prison if anyone hit my son. period.

[Vampy]

I do not think that corporal punishment should be allowed in schools. Let me just put it this way... if I ever caught a teacher, principal, another parent, or anyone, and I mean anyone strike my children they would regret the time they ever thought about striking my child(ren). I would make their lives a living hell, so much so that they would willing spend enternity in the eternal place of fire and brimestone, commonly know as Hell, than to have to put up with one more minute of me. And in saying so I hope that everyone gets my opinion on that subject, LOL.

Forever Yours,

[Seamus MacNemi]

I have to agree with the majority in this matter. I consider it totally unreasonable to even
think of ever striking a child for any reason. No one in my family ever struck me even when I was the most provocative, and I could be a holy terror at times. My mother could take my number with just a few quiet words and nobody ever questioned her authority.
The men in my family never raised their voices in anger or took recourse to obscenity as some do, but they had no difficulty in laying down the law at such times as it became necessary. I see it as a lack of education and discipline when someone turns to violence as a means of teaching. Prehaps the procorporeal punishment attitude says something about the way in which the teachers were themselves raised, which is indeed unfortunate.

[Seamus MacNemi]

I have no objection against using corporeal punishment on adults, I realize that sometimes it is necessary to deal with habitual miscreants. But we are talking about children here and that is another matter entirely. The only lesson a child learns from violence is more violence.

[Seamus MacNemi]

I like your thinking in this matter. If you care to start another thread, I would like to be the first to join you.:lol:

[Laurelei]

Well I'm a schoolkid and I selected "Teachers need to do what they need to do..... and if the law allows ..... they can do so". I get thoroughly sick of people who constantly disrupt lessons, ruin my learning and don't care about detentions. These people NEED knocking into shape and if the parents object to it they should alter their kids behaviour, or take him/her to another school.

I go to quite a rough school. Once I fell out with a boy I was forced to sit next to, and he covered my favourite bagpuss pencil case with orange juice. I got so angry I got my nails out and pinched his ear so hard he practically screamed, and it was even bleeding. I did this right in front of the teacher and I'm absolutely amazed that I got off scott free. I didn't even get a detention. Teachers have no authority, and have practically given up any kind of punishment in my school.

I don't think it should be used entirely for every little thing, but in some cases beating is the only thing they understand. Take the example above: that boy has never crossed my path with malicious intent after the event.

If the parents object, they should teach their kid properly. I know that statement could end up as a minefield and blow several parents up, but really, come on. I can't count the number of lessons that I've been in that have been ruined by one or two selfish, ignorant little brats with no respect for others. This is other peoples education that's being ruined here.
:rant:
Well that's my opinion anyway.

[Antoninus]

I somewhat agree with Laurelei. Alot of students have no respect for SOME of thier teachers, myself included (Im sorry but a teacher who yells at you for pushing the book to the right side of your desk instead of the left has some SERIOUS issues to work out).

Its the potential for mis-use that scares me. What if you got a teacher that HATED you for no reason at all, or hated you because of your religion, race, or even what you read (I was thrown out of class for reading the Communist Manifesto, believe me, it happens). You ask your friend sitting next to you for a pencil because yours broke. A harmless request you might think, but your teacher doesnt agree, she slaps her hand down on your desk and accuses you of cheating. Protests from you and your friend fall on deaf ears and the teacher administers corporal punishment to you and your friend for doing absolutely nothing wrong. And what can you do? Go to the principal? Hes going to take her word over yours and your friends any day of the week. So you see, it can be mis-used, and thats why I dont agree with it.

[Djiril]

*Posting so that I will be subscribed to this thread.*

[Sylv]

I voted 'not under any circumstances,' like almost anyone else.
Yes, there is a problem with respect in the classroom (I graduated from a public high school last year) but corporal punishment isn't the way to go about correcting it.
My dad spanked me and my sister when we were little.....when we were younger we also used to beg our mom (a stay-at-home-mom) not to leave us alone with dad. Enough said. Now that I'm older, I have a good relationship with my father but as recently as a couple years ago there was an incident when I honestly was simply physically terrified of him-when he gets angry, it looks like he's about to slug you in the face and you can just see him holding back. And when I was in ninth grade, he once picked me up and threw me out of the front door (literally) for refusing to do something he told me to. I never had any respect for him as a father, and didn't obey him nearly as much as my mother, who never spanked us and tried to stop my dad. When people can use corporal punishment, they don't learn how to control their tempers because they think fear is respect. However, in my experience, the teachers who were respected were those that never lost their calm in the classroom and the ones who were intelligent and had interesting lectures so students didn't *want* to talk. This is in the higher grades. In the lower ones, the teachers who were loved were obeyed.

I am against corporal punishment because it devalues both children and adults. As a somewhat independent child *cough* (Aries sun w/ Taurus moon), spanking made me less likely to obey a parent, not more. Unless we also advocate corporal punishment in the workplace-maybe managers paddling their employees for one too many late arrivals, it's ridiculous. Quite honestly, parents who use corporal punishment aren't emotionally ready to have kids. And the parents I see in stores frantically hissing mean things at their kid while they smack their butts make me sick. Don't have children if you can't control your temper.

[RavensEye]

In 1985 the elemntary school I attedned had the strap and my one friend got it regualrly, and to see the brusies on her arms and hans were awful, and it has always been my rresolve since then that is not something I want to experince.

Now that I have my own children I agree with an earlier comment about I will be the one to discplinemy own chidlren, and no one else, I agree that no teacher or anyone else for tha tmatter should be doing that to any ones child.

[FaerieGothMommy]

I would NEVER let a teacher hit my child! Full stop! A few years ago now, my teacher was telling a child off for being naughty, and she shoved him... if he was my child, i'd have gone mad! Because even a shove is over the top for me, if they can't handle the children being naughty at times, then they shouldn't be teachers. There are other ways to dicipline a child, hitting is NOT one of them!

[Antoninus]

Kids will always mis-behave, thats how kids work. They have to test the rules, see what they can get away with and what they cant.

Besides, what if corporal punishement is used in a situation where the child doesnt know or doesnt understand that he or she did something wrong? IE: A student is sitting in math class and trying to figgure out a problem, he comes up with an answer thats totally off what the real answer is but he thinks its right because hes developed a system, and even though the system for solving the problem is flawed, he doesnt know that and so he thinks the answer is right. The teacher calls on him to answer the question and he gives his answer, the teacher assumes that the student is trying to be sarcastic or a smartass and the student gets spanked/hit without ever realize what he/she has done wrong.

[RavensEye]

Gee I wish I woudl have been able to make it to the PRaents council at my daughters school I guess they were discusiing Corparl punishment and whether or not it will be applied in our school. Which I do not think it will, but I wam wondering how this will pan out.

[Antoninus]

Corporal punishment is becomming outdated, some schools still use it, 99% of public schools dont, some private schools still do. But I still say, you touch my kid and Ill scalp you.

[MzNeko]

Well, I don't have any kids yet, but I'm still considering whether or not my husband and I will spank them. I'm ambivalent about the idea. On the one hand, I was spanked as a kid and turned out okay; on the other hand, I'd rather avoid it if at all possible; on the other hand, if that's what it takes to keep 'em from being brats... (seriously, I've seen some kids whose parents seem to think that so much as saying 'no' will traumatize their little muffins and they're little horrors); on the other hand, I've seen kids who never need more than a stern word to get them in line; on the other hand ... How many hands am I up to?

However, when it comes to the notion of authorizing someone I trust less than myself or my hubby (any teacher/principal/school authority) to spank our kids, my mind is already made up - HELL NO!

[Miss Edith]

Im still at school, and to be quite honest, if one of my teachers ever hit me I'd probably hit them back ;)

Plus, violence breeds violence. If you were getting smacked by teachers, people who are supposed to behave as role models for younger kids (I practically worshipped the ground my kindergarten teacher walked on ;) ), what kind of message does that teach you? *nods*

[Antoninus]

I like the way you think Edith :D

[Vampy]

I like the way you think Edith :D


I agree with Antoninus

[MysticMama]

http://www.nospank.net/toc.htm#srch

http://www.nospank.net/johnson9.htm

http://www.nospank.net/martin.htm

http://www.nospank.net/weaver4.htm

http://www.nospank.net/gordon3.htm

http://www.nospank.net/guthrow.htm

http://www.nospank.net/classrm.htm

http://www.nospank.net/cassidy.htm

http://www.nospank.net/green.htm

You don't *really* want me to get started on this, right? Suffice it to say that I think physical punishment is wrong if parents do it, let alone anyone else. There are some extremely disturbing images in one article I chose not to post (because there are kids here) - but suffice it to say that these children weren't "paddled" in school -they were beaten and their butts were black and blue. :(

Me - I prefer gentle guidance to punishment.

[Kahlan]

I honestly think if anyone EVER hit my child they would end up getting hit, not just by me but my husband aswell. I think Kids have enough to worrie about in school, they dont need to worry about getting hit for something they do wrong. It is in the home and ONLY in the home that any kind of punishment, whatever a family choose to use with in the law, should be given. Wow, this really got me going, what a emotional question!

[sincerebliss]

I wouldn't let any kid be hurt by anyone..including me! :rant:

[MerrisHawk]

My oldest is 17, if I really thought he'd done something so stupid as to warrant a swat to the backside I'd do it.
If anyone else tried I practiacally guarantee they'd survive. I do mean that ever so nicely. :halohead:

[aluokaloo]

If I ever caught any teacher hitting my child I would make sure that their lives were miserable! Who's idea was this? I don't even think it should be allowed in Parochial Schools. the only reason I can think of for a teacher hitting an older kid, junior high/high school college is if that kid went on the attack and it was in self defense or endangerment of others, i.e. knife, gun, small explosive, phsyical aggression., not to mention it breeds abusive tendencies. how are we going to lessen abuse if people come up with lame brained ideas like this?

[soilsigh aingeal]

I would definatly go after the first person who'd even DARE to touch either of my children in a non-loving way. I don't hit my children and won't unless it is the absolute last thing I can think of to do and under the right (for lack of a better word) circumstances. I don't think I remember my own mother hitting me as a child. The first time she laid her hand on me that i can remember was when I was 18 and that was because she found out I had a tatoo since I was 16! :lol:

[KatCallide]

I'm on the same page as Miss Edith

If my principal hit me... sorry but he'd be down on the ground in a second. That's not how you handle situations, even if it is punishment.

Most of the teens I know... the first reaction to being hit would be to hit back. All respect for elders out the window.

I would understand if my parents did it to me if they had reason to but not a stranger. They have no right to.

The first time she laid her hand on me that i can remember was when I was 18 and that was because she found out I had a tatoo since I was 16! http://mysticwicks.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
lol yeah, my mom would have been soo mad. How did you hide it from her for so long?

[QUEEN OF THE DAMNED]

No, teachers shouldn't be allowed. I was a good student at every school I attended, good grades, rarely in trouble, yet I had (some) teachers who would pick on me openly (was called a slut by one) and they would encourage the other kids to do so aswell - if teachers will do that (I do understand not all teachers are like that) then how can they be responsible enough to distribute corporal punishment fairly? I guess I would have been under the cane in my schools with teachers like that no matter how I behaved.

[Ziana]

In the registration package my daughters school sent home, there was a letter explaining how and when corporal punishment would be used. There was no place on the letter for you to give or not give permission, it was merely a 'you have been informed please sign' type paper. I had to write in that under no circumstances was my child to be subjected to corporal punishment. I spanked my daughter when she was smaller and telling her 'no' did no good because she didn't understand. The smack on the rump was plain. As she has gotten older and can respond to reason, and other punishments such as removal of privledges and groundation, I use those. Every once in a while these don't work and it then becomes necessary to revert to spankings, but that is very rare. I believe that spanking should be a parental choice, and that if you didn't concieve it, or recieve permission from those who did, you shouldn't spank, and should butt the hell out if they choose to do so.

[Drisel]

Okay so I know that I have been quiet for a very long time and that my previous response to this thread was a simple no but I need to point out a few things.

To start out with when a child is hit they remember being hit but not always why they were hit.
When you are administering corporal punishment is it because you are enforcing the rules or are frustrated and this is your first reaction?
Children who are hit learn to strike out in a similar manner as adults.
Children learn appropriate behaviour through consistent discipline. This may involve removing your child from an area of the house that he/she is not allowed to be in or from an object they are not allowed to touch. You may have to do this several times but you are the parent and as such this is your job. This is not the easy route to a well behaved child, but it has been proven to be more effective than hitting. I would rather have my children respect me than fear me.

And as a final thought to ponder, why is it more acceptable to hit a child than it is to hit an animal?

[Djiril]

And as a final thought to ponder, why is it more acceptable to hit a child than it is to hit an animal?
I would say yes because a child is more capable of understanding why he/she is being hit.

[Pure Ahimsa]

Nothing should strike anything.

[Drisel]

I think my closing statement may have been misunderstood so I will attempt to clarify. The statement was an attemp to make you stop and consider the fact that a larger percentage of people will be outraged that someone had the audacity to stike an animal than be upset that a child, who looks to it's parents and other adults for safety and guidence, had been struck. And no I don't agree that animals should be hit either.

[flar7]

I say, "Strike them swiftly, strongly, and with love, but above all, Smite them."


why joke? because, there is no catch all to this question. Some children need corporeal punishment, and others cannot gain learning that way. Now, with that said, most children do respond on the desired manner to corporeal punishment, the problem comes in how its administered, by whom, and for what offences.

as to striking an animal....that doesnt even compare regardless of how you decide on it.

[squerrik]

Just for another point of view, the following is text of a speech given in my college speech class supporting the return of corporal punishment in public education.
the conclusion is a quote for a high junior and states:
“If you think about it, many of the world’s most influential leaders, writers, artists, ect. went to school when corporal punishment was allowed. Just think about it, by restoring corporal punishment we could be raising the next George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Colin Powell or Maya Angelou. The future is in our hands, and what we make of it is up to us”

[9-2-2]

If anyone but myself and my SO were to lay a finger on my stepson, even of the "slapping wrists" variety, they're going to get my fist in their blowhole. :mad:

I do believe in punishment, i.e. spanking, grounding, a slap on the bottom or light slap on the face, but I never let it get out of hand.

“If you think about it, many of the world’s most influential leaders, writers, artists, ect. went to school when corporal punishment was allowed. Just think about it, by restoring corporal punishment we could be raising the next George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Colin Powell or Maya Angelou. The future is in our hands, and what we make of it is up to us”

Corporal punishment doesn't make good people. Discipline is the parents' job, and peoples' choices make good people (and bad).