While the vision of being paddled in the principal’s office may seem an image of the past, corporal punishment is still legal, and used, in 20 American states. Advocates against corporal punishment have attempted to end the practice for years, but a recent push has encouraged several school districts to consider banning the method of punishment.

As a recourse to skipping detention at his Wichita Falls high school, 11th grader Tyler Anastopoulos was sent to the assistant principal’s office; where he received three blows to his backside with a paddle. The strikes left Anastopoulos with deep bruises. His mother, Angie Herring, expressed her outrage by saying, “If I did that to my son, I’d go to jail.”

In a vague response to Anastopoulos’s case, the superintendent of the City View Independent School District in Wichita Falls, Steve Harris, described corporal punishment as “one of the tools in the toolbox we use for discipline”.

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The 20 States in red currently allow teachers to legally hit their misbehaving children

Most parents recognize that even in the most well-respected and established education institutions, their children will inevitably misbehave, which will subject them to punishment in accordance to the school’s disciplinary guidelines.

In fact, in most instances, parents, teachers and administrative professionals understand and agree that negative reinforcement is sometimes deemed necessary when disciplining a disruptive pupil. Most, however, envision a trip to the principal’s office or a missed after school activity an appropriate punishment.

One thing they probably don’t envision is a child being hit with a belt or wooden paddle as an appropriate punishment for misbehavior. Read the rest of this entry »