5 Issues in Education Today

The quantity of parents that agree that corporal punishment is needed at times is 81%. Many parents have a difficult time finding ways to reprimand a child that’s acting out. Parents trying to teach a child a lesson, but also enforce a rule, will sometimes turn to a physical punishment for a fast solution with quick compliance. Through the years, parents and scientist have noticed that using corporal punishment can lead to further problems throughout a child’s lifetime. You should not use corporal punishment on your children because it can lead to mental illness/aggressiveness, slower educational development, and substance abuse.

Any kind of benefit from using corporal punishment is short-lived and it is not worth threatening the relationship between a parent and a child. The negative outcome from hitting a child carries an emotional price that is too high (A Case Against). Parents who choose to use physical force teach their children what not to do when they should be teaching them the exact opposite. The article A Case against Corporal Punishment stated, “America is one of the most punitive of Western democracies in regard to children, misbehavior, and defiance. And this proclivity to use physical punishment has made our country of the most violent in the world.” There is no doubt that parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. It is an everyday commitment and requires an immense amount of self-control. No parent is perfect and they all make mistakes, so it is important for them to learn from their missteps and make sure to do better. Children are entitled to parents who are capable of modeling kindness, patience, and love (A Case Against). Corporal punishment is neither kind nor loving, neither effective nor useful, and neither patient nor warm; therefore, parents should never establish this kind of discipline

There are those who support corporal punishment in schools and those who do not. The disparity in thought on the matter is reflected in the fact that 19 states allow the corporal punishment in schools and the remaining 29 banning the practice (Nies). No Federal ban on the practice exists and the Supreme Court has upheld the right of individual states to such decisions (Morones). Those who support its use, believe it to be effective. As writer Adam Cohen points out, there is a long held notion from the bible of “spare the rod and spoil the child”, amongst corporal punishment advocates (Cohen).

Corporal punishment is not the right way to punish children because it is humiliating and will add more bullying to schools. “Children who experience corporal punishment are more likely to hit or use other violence against other students or people(Anastasia 3)” When an administrator or someone kids look up to does someone thing, it makes the thing they do seem ok to their pupils. When teachers hit their students the children will pick up from that thinking it is ok to use violence against other people as well. Some people think that it is ok because it teaches students to express their anger through violence, but this will lead to children being violent against each other. This will cause much more bullying because the children will start to hit each other. Also some children think that it is funny to see other people in pain, so they will laugh or even beat up the children who were hit by their teachers or administrators. Why would any parents allow their children to be bullied and humiliated at school?

Corporal Punishment used to be very common back then. Flogging has been a punishment in schools since 1804. It is rumored to even Jesus was flogged before he was crucified. Birching was popular as well. All the way into the 20th century, it was still very popular in schools to hit their students. P.E teachers would take their shoe off and hit the children that were not doing as well, physically. Ellen Key, a writer from Britain, stood up

In view of the harmful effects of corporal punishment and the availability of far better disciplinary methods, it is important that school district provide the leadership necessary to eliminate this form of punishment in all schools across the nation. Corporal punishment in schools leads to greater intolerance and condones using physical violence. The evidence indicates that failing to do eliminate corporal punishment will jeopardize the health and happiness of many children and will heighten the already high levels of violence in America society.

The term corporal punishment is defined as the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, "for the purpose of correction or control of the child’s behavior" ("A Report" 18). In America, parents' use of corporal punishment in homes have been defined legally by the states as “encompassing ‘reasonable’ force with some states adding qualifiers that it must also be ‘appropriate’ (AL, AK, AZ, CA, CC), ‘moderate’ (AR, DE, SC, SD), or ‘necessary’ (MT, NH, NY, OR, TX, WI). Three states see the need to clarify that corporal punishment is limited to ‘nondeadly force’ (AK, NY, TX)” (Gershoff, "Corporal" 540). Currently, over 90% of US families report having used corporal punishment as a means of discipline at some time ("Physical"). Parental corporal punishment is usually restricted to physical contact "with an open hand, and to contact on extremities or buttocks", as in spanking, strapping, smacking, beating, or whipping (Remus 22). Behaviors that do cause risk injury (e.g., punching, kicking, burning) are considered physical abuse (Gershoff, "Corporal" 540). Parents punish their children physically for discipline. However, parents' corporal punishment may inadvertently result in child physical abuse administered by their anger. Sometimes they even intended to harm a child. In my opinion, physical abuse can be a potential outcome of corporal punishment. Parents' use of corporal punishment in homes are likely to have few intended positive effects and many unintended negative effects. Besides, hitting children frequently may worsen parent-child relationship as well as children's future character flaw. In this case, corporal punishment of children in homes needs to be outlawed in America.

“. . . His technique was to stand before a terrified twelve year old, demand his answer in Irish, and when the petrified and stuttering youngster faltered in his delivery, Brother B would unleash a staccato barrage of open handed slaps on both ears. He had been known to punch boys and to draw blood with his cane… ” (McEntee, John). This story is one of the thousand devastating stories told by a survival at age fifty. He survived the most awful experience in his childhood. His experience was full of fear, anxiety and physical punishment. His heartbreaking stories exhibit the burning memories that keep surrounding him anytime and everywhere he goes. His wonderful and innocent childhood was replaced with awful and horrible memories due to the use of corporal punishment in his school. Corporal punishment is cruel because it involves many physical actions that inflict pain and discomfort on the child, such as, slapping, spanking, hitting, paddling, punching, kicking and pulling ears. Teachers in the United States were permitted to use this kind of terrible punishment with their students, starting from age four to eighteen years old. In fact the United States is the only country in the western world that still uses corporal punishment in their public schools. Teachers are permitted to use a variety of objects like switches and belts or ironing cords, which could be applied, yearly, monthly, weekly or daily. Teachers used this kind of punishment with able and disabled children to keep their behavior under control. When I first researched corporal punishment, I was so surprised that United States still uses physical punishment in their public schools. Despite the fact that there are thousands of other effectiv...

Corporal punishment is the infliction of pain as a form of discipline or punishment. Historically and culturally, corporal punishment was acceptable and was a rationale that pain, injury and humiliation would frighten the offender to commit the same mistakes or misdemeanor. There are 19 states that still allow the use of corporal punishm...

One may ask the origin of corporal punishment and the introduction of this form of discipline into schools. According to Donnelly & Straus (2005), in more Anglo Saxon spaces, presumably the early settlers brought their own existing practices with them from Europe. So, this suggests that civilization in the western hemisphere was not physically punishing their children? Mitchell (2008) argues that this form of punishment stems from the enslavement and mistreatment of African Americans in the United States. This notion infers that African Americans developed a more aggressive discipline method due to the brutal acts of slave masters? Newell (1972) states that The British Journal of Educational Studies provides evidence of punishment to children as early as 1669 under The Children’s Petition, one that calls for grievance to youth that lies under the severities of the school-discipline of this nation. Yet, there is clear and textual evidence that the bible ignites such discipline through its chapters and verses. However, Rawson (1991) alludes to the ancient roman time, where it was found that this form was not only practiced at home, but also performed in schools. The uncertainty in defining where corporal punishment originated is indicative to the advocate’s inability to outline their rationality in keeping it. No one group developed this method, as all have used it, however, there is a group of people who stands by corporal punishment.