CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Is Corporal Punishment Needed To Discipline Children?

Is Corporal Punishment Needed To Discipline Children?

Introduction

The debate over whether parents should discipline their children using corporal punishment is certainly a contentious one. But perhaps an even more bitter debate centers on corporal punishment in public schools. Should teachers and administrators in U.S. public schools be allowed to punish their students by spanking them when they break the rules? In 1867, New Jersey became the first state to ban corporal punishment in its public schools. For more than 100 years, after that it was the only state in which the practice was illegal (Sureshrani, 2007). But since Massachusetts banned corporal punishment in 1971, 26 additional states as well as Washington, D.C., have banned corporal punishment in public schools. This paper discusses corporal punishment and whether it is fair to the kids or not.

Corporal punishment defined as "a violent act permitted by law, conducted as part of the role of parents or teachers”. Corporal punishment is an issue that arouses strong emotions. Corporal punishment term can refer to the act of hitting the body of another (e.g., slapping, spanking, flogging and whipping) hauling or pulling a part of the body of another, or throwing objects at another person. However, the types of socially accepted corporal punishment, the prevalence of corporal punishment, and the population subject to corporal punishment are constantly influenced by changing cultural norms and attitudes (Pamela, 2005). Historically, corporal punishment been used for adult cases of criminal and military institutions and children's cases through the juvenile courts, reformatories, schools and parents. Today, however, the United States limits the use of corporal punishment to discipline children, while most other Western countries have banned corporal punishment.

This paper will be written on the history and abuse that corporal punishment had. Also, stress the reasons why "spanking" is wrong and research that also supports this claim. This type of punishment should be banned as soon as possible from the society to make our young generation literates.

Discussion and Analysis

As of December 2006, corporal punishment in schools remains legal in 22 states. In those states, individual school districts are permitted to decide whether they want to use corporal punishment. Indeed, many districts, particularly in urban areas, choose to prohibit their teachers and administrators from using corporal punishment on students. Additionally, Utah allows corporal punishment, but only if parents give written consent for its use. Similarly, Ohio parents can refuse to allow their children to be paddled at school (Mark, 2007). Rural school districts, however, commonly permit the use of corporal punishment. According to statistics provided by the Education Department, more than 300,000 children were subjected to corporal punishment in the 2002-03 school years, the last year for which data are available. Nearly 90% of those children attended rural schools in just eight different states, all of which are located in the South or Midwest regions of the U.S (Gretel, 2008).

Most corporal punishment in public schools is carried out using thick wooden paddles; sometimes holes ...