Spanking in Schools Coming Back?

[JazzGal]

A Missouri school district has decided to reinstate corporal punishment in its classrooms, allowing students to be punished with a paddle under a new policy.

The school board approved the policy in June and notified parents that Missouri’s Cassville school district is bringing back spanking – a disciplinary measure abandoned by the district in 2001, according to the Springfield News Leader.

The change to reinstate spanking came after a survey sent to parents last year revealed they wanted additional discipline and was one of their major concerns, said Merlyn Johnson, Cassville school superintendent.

“The complaints that we have heard from some of our parents is that they don’t want their students suspended. They want another option,” Johnson told The Hill. “And so, this was just another option that we could use before we get to that point of suspension.”

Administrators will implement corporal punishment as a “last resort” if other disciplinary measures do not work. The punishment will only be used in “reasonable form and upon the recommendation of the principal”, Johnson said.

Parents who want their children hit can sign an opt-in form provided by the school office. Johnson said that he is still unclear how many parents will allow their children to be hit. He said forms were sent out Wednesday during open house and he should “have a number later in the week”, the Springfield News Leader reported.

According to Johnson, parents have asked him “Why can’t you paddle my student?” to which he responded that the school policy does not support such a measure. “There had been conversations with parents and there had been requests from parents for us to look into it,” he said.

Corporal punishment in the school district will only be administered by a principal and in the presence of a witness. It will never be inflicted in the presence of other students, Johnson said.

...

The US supreme court ruled that corporal punishment in schools was constitutional and left it up to states to decide to enforce it. Currently, there are 19 states across the US where corporal punishment is still allowed. The majority of the states that permit it are in the south.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/m...newsntp&cvid=27f4e8d781c4bd503695faa2512274ff

I had no idea corporal punishment in schools was still legal and that so many states still have it on the books.

 

[fishonjazz]

Kinky

 

[Gameface]

One of my biggest issues with this is that the teacher/faculty member who wants to be in charge of the spanking is the last person you should put in charge of the spanking.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Pretty sure spanking was a thing at my school if your parent approved it.

 

[JazzGal]

Pretty sure spanking was a thing at my school if your parent approved it.

Where did you grow up? I was in school in the 60s-70s in Utah, and I don't remember ever seeing anyone get spanked or even threatened with it. Then again, my memory isn't what it used to be, but I'm pretty sure it would have fed into the anxiety I felt in grade school and I still remember the things that triggered it.

But maybe I have the wrong idea about spanking. It always happened in my home in the heat of the moment. But maybe I have the wrong idea - maybe it will work in a situation where the kid misbehaves and the teacher can't stop the behavior. They they calmly walk them down to the principal's office, where they determine if the parent has opted in to the spanking, and then the principal calmly hits the kid with a paddle in front of witnesses. Nope, still feels wrong to me.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Where did you grow up? I was in school in the 60s-70s in Utah, and I don't remember ever seeing anyone get spanked or even threatened with it. Then again, my memory isn't what it used to be, but I'm pretty sure it would have fed into the anxiety I felt in grade school and I still remember the things that triggered it.

But maybe I have the wrong idea about spanking. It always happened in my home in the heat of the moment. But maybe I have the wrong idea - maybe it will work in a situation where the kid misbehaves and the teacher can't stop the behavior. They they calmly walk them down to the principal's office, where they determine if the parent has opted in to the spanking, and then the principal calmly hits the kid with a paddle in front of witnesses. Nope, still feels wrong to me.

Mississippi.

I think it was a paddle. Basically the principle would beat your *** with a paddle if your parents ok'd it. I dont think anyone actually ok'd it though.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

But maybe I have the wrong idea about spanking. It always happened in my home in the heat of the moment. But maybe I have the wrong idea - maybe it will work in a situation where the kid misbehaves and the teacher can't stop the behavior. They they calmly walk them down to the principal's office, where they determine if the parent has opted in to the spanking, and then the principal calmly hits the kid with a paddle in front of witnesses. Nope, still feels wrong to me.

It is about breaking the prison to school pipeline. The two things they've tried so far are suspensions and positive outreach/ignoring the problem. Suspensions hurt the kid academically and will make it harder for the disciplined kid to keep up with the class once they return. The kid also gets time off from school, which they probably wanted.

The alternative is positive outreach/ignoring the problem which does nothing the discourage bad behavior. I have a friend who is a third grade teacher and she had a student throw a chair at her in class. Her school had a policy that was positive outreach/ignoring the problem, and she was not allowed to even refer the kid to the principal. She ended up quitting.

Corporal punishment is a third way that doesn't academically disadvantage the kid and doesn't leave the child believing there are no adverse consequences for unacceptable behavior. I'd be very interested to see the statistics of academic and life outcomes from schools that did allow corporal punishment versus those that did not.

 

[One Brow]

It is about breaking the prison to school pipeline.

In Cassville, MO?

The two things they've tried so far are suspensions and positive outreach/ignoring the problem. Suspensions hurt the kid academically and will make it harder for the disciplined kid to keep up with the class once they return. The kid also gets time off from school, which they probably wanted.

What happened to in-school suspension?

Corporal punishment is a third way that doesn't academically disadvantage the kid and doesn't leave the child believing there are no adverse consequences for unacceptable behavior. I'd be very interested to see the statistics of academic and life outcomes from schools that did allow corporal punishment versus those that did not.

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/3/383/pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350213711_Impact_of_Corporal_Punishment_on_Students'_Academic_Performance_at_Elementary_Schools_level

Those students who were punished by their teachers performed "average" in exams and the teachers who used alternatives rather than punishment, the majority of their students performed "very good in final exams.

Impairing Education: Corporal Punishment of Students with Disabilities in US Public Schools

Students with disabilities face corporal punishment in public schools at disproportionately high rates according to a new report by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch. Corporal punishment — ranging from paddling to smacking to throwing children into walls — can worsen these students' medical...

www.aclu.org

https://republicans-edlabor.house.gov/uploadedfiles/04.15.10_greydandus.pdf

 

[Avery]

Are there peer-reviewed studies showing reduced recidivism from spanking vs. suspension?

This seems ripe for problems.

 

[Douchebag K]

Lol. What’s next, electro shock therapy at school ??

 

[LogGrad98]

Pretty sure Jeffrey Dahmer was spanked. Or maybe he wasn't spanked enough.

 

[The Thriller]

Lol. What’s next, electro shock therapy at school ??

Shhh. Don’t give red states any ideas.

 

[Red]

This is an image that comes to mind from my parochial grade school days. It hurt! No parental permission required! Lol, but I survived, no deep seated trauma, lol…

 

[Hax0rs]

Kinky

Groomer. I don't even think you're a real person. You voting for Evan McMullin?

 

[TheGoldStandard]

 

[Rubashov]

Kinky

Fair bit of spanking goes on in some of the school based videos I watch on the internets....

 

[Keefe]

 

[Nate505]

I just found out spanking is actually not banned in schools in Colorado. Wild. That said, it doesn't sound like many districts themselves allow it, and the last data I could even find for it said it happened 8 times one year (like 15 years ago).