As if it was helping! The controversial practice of corporal punishment in schools is still very much alive and kicking in the United States.
Are we back in Middle Age? This week, a bill was proposed in Kansas that would give teachers and parent-authorized caregivers the ability to spank children harder than their state normally allows. Well, did you know that spanking and other kinds of corporal punishments are allowed in schools of 19 US states?
As shown by the following map, 31 US states have banned school corporal punishment (in white). But what is fascinating and terrifying, is that nineteen US states still have laws permitting corporal punishment in schools (in red).
In which US States is it allowed to hit children at school?
The nineteen states allowing teachers and caregivers to spank children (o otherr forms of corporal punishment) are: Iowa, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. Although there is a significant drop of more than 50% since 1980 (45 states allowed spankings), it’s amazingly high (I find).
Which children are paddled?
Of course, the spanking is not evenly distributed. Corporal punishment is merely for African-American and male students. As reported by the center of effective discipline, in the 2005-2006 school year, 223,190 school children in the U.S. were subjected to physical punishment.
What’s the best solution?
It’s difficult to answer! What parents do in their homes and what teachers do in school are two different things. But there are parents who wouldn’t hit their kids at home, who are also sending them to schools where their teachers can do just that. In my case, if I knew a teacher was hitting my child, I would go to school and smash the teacher’s face. What about you?
