"Spare the rod and spoil the child" is still standard educational philosophy in more than 20 states. That is, corporal (meaning physical or bodily punishment) is still legal. In some states where corporal punishment is legal, individual school districts have banned it. That's right, you can beat schoolchildren, but not prisoners. Not that I'm for beating prisoners. I'm against beating schoolchildren.
This subject came up on a blog for teachers, and neither the pros nor cons had a clear majority. This, to me, was surprising. Surely when people find out that schools get to beat kids, they'll object, was what I had been thinking--since my own school days, 40 years ago. Not so. A lot of the comments that were in favor of corporal punishment explained why--that they believed that their own children--or in some cases other people's children--would not behave if the schools didn't beat them. Schools would be taking their carefully beaten little children and spoiling them--sending them home ill-behaved and undisciplined--because they knew that in school, no one would beat them.
Suggestion: When children become a real behavior problem in schools, their parents show up for some parenting classes--to include all the ways commonly used to get children to behave as you would like--and how likely each of them is to work, or not work (compassion aside, beating doesn't work).
Suggestion: No corporal punishment in schools--in no school, no day care, no private school--the prohibition to include things like standing in corners or sitting on stools--let's leave the 19th century in the history books.
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