Corporal Punishment in schools

So my girls just started kindergarten today. We had to do a lot of paperwork. One of the papers was if we agree to the teacher using corporal punishment on my kids. I voted NO. Other people who are not from Mississippi, are very suprised they still allow spanking in schools.

So does your schools still allow this? I have no problem with them doing it for older children, but I dont want them spanking my 5 yr olds yet. I can do that at home. (this is not a debate about spanking..just if you agree or disagree with them doing it at schools)


Brandy

 

I don't think the schools here do (I'm sure I would have heard about it), but I know that they did in the schools I went to growing up in PA. I am anti corporal punishment in schools. I know that my mother had a note on file at school that they were not permitted to lay a hand on us at school. I remember kids being paddled in school and it was humiliating for them. I would never allow my children to be paddled at school. I don't hit them at home, so I wouldn't let someone at school do it either.

 

No, the schools here do not spank/paddle. No way in you-know-what would I allow a teacher or school official to spank my child! I think you know my feelings on the matter.

 

I had no idea schools still did this :bad: :woah: :grr:
No. NO. Never would I allow my child to be spanked at school, never ever. Teachers have so many other ways to discipline I can't even imagine why this would still be an option.
So what exactly happens in these schools? A kid misbehaves and a teacher looks down a list and says "oh you I can hit" or " oh it's your lucky day, you're on the do not hit list"?!?!?!?! REALLY?!
I just don't get it.

 

Wow, corporal punishment? Seriously? I had no idea Mississippi still allowed this. NO WAY would I okay corporal punishment for my kids. Thankfully they are all good boys and would never have had to endure this type of punishment at school, but wow, how archaic!!

 

I remember them having different paddles in middle school. I think the shop teachers made them for them! At least one teacher had one with holes drilled in it to make it hurt more when they hit kids with it. Isn't that horrible!?

 

Public school or Catholic school? I know that sounds horrible but DH went to Catholic school K-12 on Long Island and he has horrible stories of corporal punishment. I went to public school in Wisconsin (and my mom taught in public school) and I don't remember anyone ever receiving corporal punishment.

 

Public school in Pennsylvania. I went to Catholic school until 4th grade and they did not have corporal punishment. Although I do remember my dad talking about getting his hands slapped with a ruler in Catholic school in the 50s/60s. I think things have changed! All of my cousins went to Catholic school in Philadelphia and there was no corporal punishment and I know there isn't here in the Catholic schools.

 

No way would I ever allow that, and I too am shocked that it is even still done!

 

Ok..I will explain how they do it. hehe


They give many warnings..and it has to be a suspendable punishment to warrant a paddling. They do it from K-8th grade. The parent has to sign a permission slip every year. If the parent signs no paddling, then the teacher or principal is not allowed to touch the child. But the child will be suspended for 1-3 days, depending on the the action of the child. There have usually already been confenceres with the parents, and many other things tried first.

When a child is paddled..there are always 2 adults in the room or office. There is only allowed to be 3 paddles on a clothed rear end.



I was paddled one time in the 7th grade. It was my choice then..either that or I was gonna get suspended. hehe I choose to get the paddling from my prinicipal, because I knew I would get a lot worse from my mom if I got suspended..


So thats how they do it..and some teacher choose not to do it, and many parents choose not to allow it. Yet the school my kids go too..is the most "popular" school and best in the area. People try everything to get their kids in this school..seriously.


Brandy

 

I found this site..its not only legal in Mississippi..but a LOT of other states also.


http://school.familyeducation.com/classroom-discipline/resource/38377.html


Where the states stand on corporal punishment: Alabama--Legal
Alaska--Illegal
Arizona--Legal
Arkansas--Legal
California--Illegal
Colorado--Legal
Connecticut--Illegal
Delaware--Illegal
District of Columbia--Illegal
Florida--Legal
Georgia--Legal
Hawaii--Illegal
Idaho--Legal
Illinois--Illegal
Indiana--Legal
Iowa--Illegal
Kansas--Legal
Kentucky--Legal
Louisiana--Legal
Maine--Illegal
Maryland--Illegal
Massachusetts--Illegal
Michigan--Illegal
Minnesota--Illegal
Mississippi--Legal
Missouri--Legal Montana--Illegal
Nebraska--Illegal
Nevada--Illegal
New Hampshire--Illegal
New Jersey--Illegal
New Mexico--Legal
New York--Illegal
North Carolina--Legal
North Dakota--Illegal
Ohio--Legal
Oklahoma--Legal
Oregon--Illegal
Pennsylvania--Illegal
Rhode Island--Illegal
South Carolina--Legal
South Dakota--Illegal
Tennessee--Legal
Texas--Legal
Utah--Illegal
Vermont--Illegal
Virginia--Illegal
Washington--Illegal
West Virginia--Illegal
Wisconsin--Illegal
Wyoming--Legal


Very intersting.

 

Wow. I had no idea public schools anywhere in the USA still allowed corporal punishment. :shok: And I teach in the public schools. I'm really surprised.

Ok, just saw the other response Brandy left listing the states that allow it, and two of our neighboring states allow it!! :shok: How did I not know this??!

I voted "NO!" and still feel that way. However, when I finally got down and read Brandy's explanation, it doesn't sound as archaic as I had originally thought. It sounds like the school has reasonable perameters set, and I respect that it's done in the office/room with two adults, three paddles on a clothed behind, and only after a series of interventions have been attempted. I also respect that it can only be done with the parents permission.

Still fairly confident that I would NOT allow a school to paddle my child. Even more confident that my DH would not allow that. I even ask that my parents, who watch our kids on the days when DH and I are both working, do not spank my kids . . . can't imagine I'd let the school.

 

It is illegal where I live, but when I taught in Georgia, the schools there did paddle. And, like Brandy explained, it is the last resort on the discipline latter, and is usually done by a principal, not the regular teacher, so there is no emotional attachment--ie, a teacher is frustrated and takes it out on the kid. There are also kids that will never be paddled--like special needs kids and foster children. The thing is, I know kids who just knowing that the threat is there, will get their act together--in 3 years of teaching in GA, I think I know of only one instance where a child was actually paddled.

I did find it "funny" that the parent of the child who was paddled initially signed the form that their child was not to be paddled. But when faced with a 3 day suspension, or a paddling, the parent rapidly changed their mind to saying paddling was OK--I 3 day suspension was just too much for them to handle.

 

At first the schools here would send out a form and you could accept or decline paddling. They stopped doing that, so I started sending in written notes expressly denying permission for anyone to paddle my children. I'm glad Brandy's school has a dispassionate person in charge of it (rather than having it happen in the moment when tempers are flaring), but I still wouldn't allow it. I am sure my kids would suffer much, much more if they got suspended and had to come home and hang out with me. :spiteful:

I can remember my mom signing against it for me when I was a kid, too.

 

OK I really didnt think ANYWHERE still did that! I remember my dad telling me about getting the whip or belted with the ruler once.

A state in Australia (TAZ) now have a rule that children who wag school and arent good students (behaviour wise) cannot get their learners at 16 they have to wait a year and if their behaviours the same it continues like that. Its meant to keep students at school.

Personally I dont think it will work! Being in year 12 I see people leaving more because they have their Ps (allows them to drive by themselves without parents) because they can skip down to the beach and come back. although my school only keeps one of 20 gates unlocked durning the day with a 6 foot fence around it :blink:

 

I,m in SHOCK!!!!!!

Can't believe that child-abuse is legal??????in some states

In Holland even hitting your own kid is illegal!

 

I was going to say I don't remember it ever happening when I was in school but then I saw Brandy's list and that it is illegal in PA. My kids are too little for school right now, so I am not sure how I would feel if it was legal in PA. I don't think I would like it.

 

Wow. That is some crazy stuff. Growing up and only going to school in NJ, where it's illegal, I am floored by this. And honestly, I don't think it should be legal in any school anywhere. If a parent wants to spank their child, that is between the parent and their child. But allowing a stranger to do it, eek. No way.

 

I didn't realize it was still legal in Kentucky since I know of no schools in our area that still do it. They removed it from my grade school while I was still there and I know they don't do it in the district we live in because my BF teaches there.

I choose "other" for whether I would allow it. Obviously, my kids are too young, but thinking to the future, it would depend on the several things. First, I would want guidelines in place like Brandy described. Since part of those guidelines include parent conferences, I would also have to agree beforehand that the behavior was worthy of severe punishment. I know a student who recently got suspended from his school for exercising his first amendment rights and I would have disagreed with even the most mild of punishments for that situation.

I've worked in so many elementary classrooms and teachers really don't have many options for punishment. Time-outs mean nothing to some kids. In my BF's school, suspending them is like a vacation for most kids. What else can you do? I think kids need to know there are severe consequences.

 

Yes, they paddle in schools here (north Florida). It is only done by administration after many warnings. When I was in school, my mother wrote letters to not allow any of us to be whipped. While in HS, I did get a few paddles for being late for class. The rule in HS was after 4 times tardy you went to the office. The Dean gave us a choice of Saturday detention or 3 whips. I always choose the whips so that I could get it over...my mother never knew!

 

Same here. There would be h*ll to pay if anyone ever touched one of my children - no matter what their age.

 

That honestly makes me ill :bad:

 

When I was in school in Virginia (this would 1978-1981, K- 2nd grade) it was legal, and as far as I know, no permission needed. My second grade teacher would hit students on the back of their legs with a yardstick, in front of the whole class.

 

Really? I just dont see it as that bad, honestly. I guess..I am just use to it though.

 

I would not allow a school official to spank my children - but if other parents are okay with it, that is their business. I do not see it as child abuse, though.

My dad taught middle school shop for 38 years and I know for the first 20 at least, the kids in shop class had to make paddles. The paddles then when in the storage room - and if kid committed a "suspendable" offense - they got to choose a paddle or suspension. Many, many kids chose the paddle. Like Brandy's school, there were always at least 2 (if not 3) teachers plus the principal, over clothing, etc. I guess the 12, 13, and 14 year olds didn't have too big of an issue with it.

 

Used to it, doesn't make it right. People used to be used to a LOT of things - women not voting, slavery, etc. Yes I know that some will think these are extreme examples.

There is a little girl in my son's class (going into Gr. 3) who was late to class in the morning more often than she was on time last year. Parents work, she is @ a babysitters in the morning and gets herself to school alone (7+ blocks - that is another rant I could go into). Is it really her fault that she is late every day? Seriously? No! It is the parent & babysitters fault. Maybe we should paddle them instead :good:

Hitting is just not something that sits right with me :nea:

 

I do understand your reasons. However, I wonder how many schools would not have such bad problems with guns, knives and having to have security guards protecting the kids, if there was a little fear in the school. Sometimes fear is a good thing to have. My girls arent allowed to get spanked, but they saw the paddle on my teachers desk..and know the school uses it for "situations". My girls will behave and I am OK with that. I want them to have respect and know that the authority at the school is the teacher. My girls arent bad with anyone else anyways (just me) but knowing they are being the respectful kids at school is good for me.

I always make them say Yes, Ma'am, and No Ma'am..to all adults. They are true southern belles. LOL

Respect for authority is something I see missing in a lot of schools..and the real world.
Like I said..they school talks to the parents..the caregivers and gives many many warnings before the paddling. IN the case of the little girl you are talking about, the parents would be punished by not getting the kids to school, by the police being called and checking out the situation just like if a child misses more than 12 days of school. Not the child, being punished.

Brandy

 

Well, DH was in school in the late 60's (elementary) and so things hadn't changed much yet, I guess. I don't think it's really like that any more now.

Wow, I cannot believe corporal punishment is still legal in TN. Who knew? I wonder if each school district can decide to use it or not? I've never had to sign any kind of papers about it and I've never known it to be used in any of our schools. I'll have to check into this. Seems very archaic and outdated, doesn't it?

 

Do you really think a child that is going to bring a gun to school is going to be scared that they might get paddled??? That actually made me laugh when I read that.

I guess some people on this thread have kinda made my point for me about paddling as a disciplinary action. So many people said that they would rather have a few hits from a paddle than spend a saturday in detention, or deal with their own parents, so how much a detterant is it really? Seems like a few uncomfortable minutes for some kids is the lesser of the two punishments.

I don't think paddling our kids in school is going to make them respectful. That would mean the whole state of NJ would be full horrible disrespectful children, since paddling is illegal.

 

Paddling is not legal in my state and if it were I would sign the paper "no paddling". I would rather my child be suspended for bad behavior at school than be paddled by someone who has no real relationship with my child. DH and I are the only ones that will ever spank our children

 

Oh, definitely. A few minutes of pain vs missing out on socializing with friends for a few days. Or missing the big b-ball game, etc. The paddling - especially with older kids - seems like it would be a much preferable option.

Honestly, I think the thing that matters the most when it comes to kids behaving in school and respecting the school environment and school staff comes from home. I always knew that no matter what kind of trouble I got into at school, it would be 100x's worse at home. Not spanking or anything like that. But loss of priveleges. Parents disappointed in me. Loss of going out with friends, telephone, etc.

 

Oh most definitely.

 

Yes, we really should get back to hitting kids to make them respectful. :bad:

 

Oh, my kids would get to do LOTS of fun things around here if they got suspended. I'm sure my baseboards could use a good wiping down (and I have a ton of baseboards), even if I just did that yesterday. Also, all my window and door frames would need cleaning (I have 17 windows and 17 doors). My refrigerator could do with a wiping down, and I could go on. I wouldn't want them to be bored without school...

 

Ha!! That made laugh out loud because any time my kids complain they are bored, I have always made them dust the baseboards. Funnily enough, they generally are never bored. :lol: