Corporal Punishment in Schools in the United States, Research Paper Example

Corporal punishment is a matter that has continued to elicit divisive issues in the public schools in the United States of America. Most people have been considering the adverse implications that are associated with corporal punishment for young students in the American public schools. This has necessitated that in some states, corporal punishment has been outlawed altogether. The reason behind the withdrawal of corporal punishment in schools is that it has been associated with physical abuse to the student and this is generally unacceptable under any circumstances. Americans are against any actions of cruelty and unusual punishment especially when the actions are directed at minors. Corporal punishment has nevertheless been a long standing practice as well as a tradition that has been linked to limited results and its morality has always been questionable. In many public schools in majority of the states in America nonetheless corporal punishment has always doled out to become synonymous to the American societyas well as  culture similarly that apple pie, baseball Chevy cars are.

This issue of corporal punishment has attracted the opinions of supporters and critics alike. According to the supporters, corporal punishment is generally considered as a nefarious practice which has the needed potential for cultivation of self-control as well as a sense of self respect among the students. Furthermore, it is the conviction of the supporters that in a case of absence of corporal punishment in schools, there is a possibility of an upsurge of violent crimes in the juvenile class. On the contrary, according to the critics, their proclamation holds that, corporal punishment is a mode of instilling discipline that  is associated with a long term as well as a potentially calamitous implication which can easily foment the student in terms of adverse psychological consequences. They also postulate that, corporal punishment is likely to promote violence in the school campuses as well as around the neighborhoods. Considering the arguments that have been advocated by the two sides, it is the responsibility of an individual person to decide the most appropriate decision based on modern exigencies.

According to Arcus, (2002, 173-183), so many students have been involved in deaths that involve mass shootings in the United States public schools and these deaths are otherwise preventable. These incidences are connected to the policies in schools regarding the use of corporal punishment for the purpose of instilling discipline among the students. The high number of the shooting incidences is recorded in the states that uphold the use of corporal punishments in the public schools. Considering that these incidences coincidentally occur in states that continue to advocate for corporal punishments, it is only prudent to conclude that the nefarious practices are the promoters of such incidences. These shootings also take place at the same time that violence breaks in the schools. The acts of aggression in public schools have only been documented in the states that fail to outlaw corporal punishment. Although the lacks sufficient evidence to support the claims, it is nonetheless obvious that the use of corporal punishment in the public schools is an extreme form of punishment that can be linked to child abuse and it is a cause of many fatalities in the United States as compared to other countries such as China that do not support corporal punishment.

However, on the contrary, according to an article written by Dobson, (2013), the use of corporal punishment to instill discipline to the unruly students is justified. In the process of executing the corporal punishment however, Dobson is keen to point out at the need establishing a clear boundary between abuses as well as the apt punishment along with a pernicious punishment. The students who prove to be misbehaved must be accorded the right discipline requisite for the children in the situation of understanding the comportment that is necessary. Dobson also attributes the corporal punishment to other draconian actions that serve as avenues for reaction of the violent and the stubborn youth in a constructive way leading to transformation of their habits after the confrontation. It is therefore anticipated that, the use of corporal punishment plays a significant role in creating fundamental changes among the unruly students. Appropriate application of corporal punishment is therefore prudent if the anticipated results are to be realized. If on the other hand, the punishment is misused, it can only serve the purpose of exploitation which is wrong. Most of the students are exposed to violence from their homes and they are generally vulnerable to aggression.

According to Cherry, (1993), corporal punishment is not the preferred mode of instilling discipline to the students. The use of corporal punishment is consi8dered as an antiquated measure in schools which can conveniently be replaced with “non-discipline discipline.” This is an appropriate approach that focus on caring coupled with friendly processes in the developmental process of a child.

The implication of corporal punishment is paddling, spanking as well as other manifestations of physically instilling discipline to a student. Corporal punishment is generally outlawed in majority of the public schools but some of the schools especially in Texas give room for the corporal punishment to be meted on indiscipline students but their parents are usually accorded an opportunity to decide whether to opt out or agree. In the state of Texas therefore, corporal punishment has been legalized unless the legal guardian to the student such as the parent decline to grant the permission in a written and signed statement to the board of management in the school.

The corporal punishment in most schools involves officially approved punishments against any misbehavior by the student, in which case the student may be beaten methodically in a specified number of times as a premediated ceremony. In most cases, the administration of the corporal punishment is done on hand or across the buttocks with an implement that is reserved for that particular objective which may be a wooden paddle, leather strap, a rattan cane or a wooden yardstick. In other cases it may entail smacking and spanking the student on particular body parts using an open hand and this is commonly applicable in elementary level of schools.

According to the proponents of corporal punishment, it is associated with an instant response to the matter in indiscipline then the student is allowed to resume back to the learning activities in the classroom instead of suspending the student for a time from the classroom. However, the opponents of corporal punishment have a different opinion concerning corporal punishment. They argue that, physically punishing the student is only associated with long term ineffectiveness as it is likely to disrupt the learning process, and it is associated a several side effects. They also postulate that, corporal punishment is a violation of the rights of the students and it is a manifestation of violence against the student. They also argue that, the administration of corporal punishment has less effectiveness as compared to other constructive approaches to student punishment in the management of the behavior of the student and it can hardly achieve the long term implications of compliance among the students. According to case studies done in the United States, the use of paddling as a corporal punishment was less effective in predicting enhanced student performance and a decrease in delinquency but it resulted to higher cases of school dropouts among the students. Corporal punishment was also associated with poor performance in academia by the student and an increase in the rates of crime. Corporal punishment has also been connected with negative psychological, educational as well as physical outcomes among the students. Cases of increased aggressiveness, poor achievements in the classroom, poor span of attention, schools phobia and avoidance, reduced low esteem, depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, retaliation against the teachers, suicide attempts as well as destructive and disruptive behaviors have been closely linked to Corporal punishment in schools (Caulkins, 2012).

In many schools, the law justifies the use of corporal punishment in consideration of the loco parentis, in which case the school is trusted with equal rights as well as duties over the students just as their parents. In Texas, the government and the local authorities of education stipulates distinctive regulations that guide corporal punishment in the public schools. They authorities play the responsibility of defining the most appropriate implements that must be applicable in administration of corporal punishment, the number of appropriate strokes suitable for a particular offense, the appropriate staff member mandated to execute the punishment and the need to involve the parents if the Corporal punishment has to be executed (Clark, 2007).

Based on the depth of the regulations and the rigor of their implementation, the punishment has been made in to a structured ceremony with a legal defense within a particular jurisdiction that inhibits the teachers to lash at the punishment at on pleasure. The states have the power to implement or ban the use of corporal punishment in the schools within their jurisdiction. Although most of the states have banned the use of corporal punishment in their schools, others including Texas enforce its use although its vigor is continuously declining. In the private schools, the state bans on corporal punishment do not apply and they have the liberty of its implementation (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000).

According to the opinions of the general public, most people despise the use of corporal punishment based on the results of some polls that have been conducted. In majority of the public schools, the use of corporal punishment has been abolished.

According to chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code that defines discipline, law as well as order, corporal punishment entails a cautious infliction of pain through physical means that is executed through spanking, slapping, hitting, paddling and any other preferred form of physical force to serve as a means of instilling discipline to the student. There are some exemptions of activities that do not merit as corporal punishment according to its definition. These include the physical pain that arises out of athletic training, physical education as well as competition. Also in this category, restraint to the student, confinement, time-out as well as seclusion are not part of the corporal punishment (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). The appropriate circumstances surrounding administration of corporal punishment are also outlined in the code. The corporal punishment may be executed by the district educator as a means of disciplining the unruly student. There is an exemption whereby the parent or the legal guardian to the student opts out of the corporal punishment through submission of a written and signed statement that forbids the school authorities from executing the corporal punishment on the child. This statement must be renewed every year and provided to the schools board of trustees. The parent is at liberty to revoke the statement at any stage in the course of the year that the statement is effective through provision of a written and signed revocation statement that is submitted to the school authority.

In the place of the corporal punishment, there are other alternative forms of punishments that are preferred in certain circumstances. The students may be removed from the classroom, the school bus, campus or an educational program. The student may also be transferred to an alternative disciplinary program of education. Suspension from the school, expulsion, restraint, time out or placing the student in a juvenile program may also be applicable. In consideration of both the proponents as well as the opponents arguments, it is worthwhile to cherish the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools and replace it with less antiquated approaches to discipline.

Works cited

American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on School Health (August 2000). “Corporal punishment in schools”. Pediatrics 106 (2 Pt 1): 343.

Arcus, Doreen. “School Shooting Fatalities and School Corporal Punishment: A Look At The States.”  Aggressive Behavior 28.3 (2002): 173-183.

Caulkins, Jonathan P. Corporal Punishment. New York: Oxford UP, 2012.

Cherry, Clare. Please Don’t Sit on the Kids. California: Fearon Pitman, 1983.

Clark, Peter. “The Ethics of Corporal Punishment” Curriculum Journal 21.2 (2000): 40-60. Oct. 2007.

Dobson, James. “Corporal Punishment Is Effective.” Parenting. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Corporal Punishment & the

Strong-Willed Child.” The New Strong-Willed Child. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 23 June 2015.