It’s no secret that some kids these days are lacking discipline.
The argument seems to be whether the problem is at home or at school. Some parents feel that the schools are too strict with children, and others wish they would keep them in line better. One Texas public school district has had enough of dealing with misbehaving kids who don’t respond to normal types of discipline, like detention or suspension. Officials have decided to bring back corporal punishment and are now paddling the students who get too out of hand.
You might think that the parents would have a problem with this, but it’s actually quite the opposite.
Most parents are supporting this decision. The Three Rivers Independent School District requires the parents to sign up to have their kids paddled. Parents can choose to opt in or out of paddlings, and the district requires both written and verbal consent. This way, parents can’t complain about it after the fact.
Many schools are against this type of discipline. Several decades ago, it was common for teachers and principals to paddle students who had misbehaved. These paddlings aren’t mean for kids who forget their homework one time but for kids who are doing bad things to others or purposely acting out in class. Other forms of discipline can be used before the action results in paddling.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) defines corporal punishment as “deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping, or any other physical force used as a means of discipline.”
This sounds worse than it is in most cases, and the parents who choose to paddle their kids at home are often the ones who sign up to have them paddled at school.
This kind of consistency can pay off and help children learn how to act at home and at school. It comes down to each family’s style of parenting.
The students of parents who approve of the punishment will receive one paddling for his or her infraction when they misbehave at school. According to Three Rivers Superintendent Mary Springs:
“If the parent is not comfortable with it, that’s the end of the discussion.”
Paddling has long been a topic of debate. Some people fear that it could make kids afraid to go to school or that the paddling could get out of hand and a child could actually be injured.
Still, 27 school districts use it at their discretion.
Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. has written a letter to the schools asking them to ban corporal punishment. In it, he writes:
“Approximately 40,000 — or more than one-third — of those students who were subjected to corporal punishment are black; black students, by comparison, make up only 16 percent of the total public-school student population. Similarly, in states where students were subjected to corporal punishment, black boys were 1.8 times as likely as white boys to be subject to corporal punishment, and black girls were 2.9 times as likely as white girls to be subject to corporal punishment.”
Once the news of the school district’s decision to allow corporal punishment hit social media, parents expressed their opinions.
One parent wrote,
“If parents would teach their children how to act right, they wouldn’t have to worry about they’re kid getting paddled at school. I say if you don’t want someone to teach your kids respect, DO IT YOURSELF!”
Another said:
“Do a little research on kids who were spanked and see that they are much more likely to end up in prison than kids who were disciplined with other methods. Paddling has no place in any school or home.”
Another posted:
“If anyone ever touched my kid, I would beat them senseless. Nope, no way. I would pay for private school.”
The schools using this punishment maintain that there is no discrimination or prejudice involved and that the punishment works in helping kids remember to stay well-behaved while at school.
This will likely always be a topic that people fail to agree on. Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
