Even though this is the 5th year in a row that I have come across this form in my daughter's backpack, it never ceases to amaze me that this policy is still in existence. In 2011. Heck, it was a shock in 2005, since most communities were out of the stone age a while ago.
In the WCSD Student Code of Conduct, page 34, drum roll please...
Parent or Guardian Notice
Corporal Punishment
Agreement with Parent
I have to check a box- the yes box if I think it is OK for somebody to hit my child (uh, NO), or the no box if I prefer that didn't happen (uh, YES). Then I have to sign this piece of crap and send it back in- and I will have to place it in an envelope so she won't have to see that it might be an option for children to be hit at school.
And, like every year, I will write my little note of outrage that this sort of policy reflects badly on Walton County and does nothing to enhance the educational environment, blah blah blah. What a disgusting, backwards policy.
I encourage all WCSD parents to send in your notes of outrage about this archaic and disturbing policy with your signed form as well. How hard is it to remove this policy?
Replies
78
SoWal Expert
I think corporal punishment at school is stupid thing to still have.
I also think many kids these days REALLY need a spanking or some other discipline, but IMO it isn't the job of the teachers to dole it out.
My teachers made me behave without hitting me, but they also knew that my parents would back them up and add to any punishments the school doled out - which IMO is a rarity and a big reason why schools have discipline issues these days.
I also think many kids these days REALLY need a spanking or some other discipline, but IMO it isn't the job of the teachers to dole it out.
My teachers made me behave without hitting me, but they also knew that my parents would back them up and add to any punishments the school doled out - which IMO is a rarity and a big reason why schools have discipline issues these days.
margarita brocolia
Jdarg,
86% of TX schools still have corporal punishment too. Now doesn't that make you feel better? bwahaa
We all know how great TX is at everything.;-)
Fortunately, our school district and the larger districts of the DFW metroplex are part of the 4% that don't have it.
Until recently, I wasn't even aware that most of TX chose to have it. I doubt many teachers would even dream of going there in this day and age. They need backed up better by strong administrations. That would help tremendously - much more than the paddle.
86% of TX schools still have corporal punishment too. Now doesn't that make you feel better? bwahaa
We all know how great TX is at everything.;-)
Fortunately, our school district and the larger districts of the DFW metroplex are part of the 4% that don't have it.
Until recently, I wasn't even aware that most of TX chose to have it. I doubt many teachers would even dream of going there in this day and age. They need backed up better by strong administrations. That would help tremendously - much more than the paddle.
SoWal ExpertAuthor
Jdarg,
86% of TX schools still have corporal punishment too. Now doesn't that make you feel better? bwahaa
We all know how great TX is at everything.;-)
Fortunately, our school district and the larger districts of the DFW metroplex are part of the 4% that don't have it.
Until recently, I wasn't even aware that most of TX chose to have it. I doubt many teachers would even dream of going there in this day and age. They need backed up better by strong administrations. That would help tremendously - much more than the paddle.
Ha ha Rita I feel better!!! But since everything is bigger in Texas, are the paddles bigger too?:shock:
It is just so icky, huh? Sigh....
SoWal Guide
I think of all the stories I've heard about the mean, scary, hitting nuns. It seemed funny when being told about how school used to be... but can you picture Catholic nuns whacking on children who are in their care? surely there are some creepy movies about this aspect alone.
margarita brocolia
#311
Ha ha Rita I feel better!!! But since everything is bigger in Texas, are the paddles bigger too?:shock:
Texas-sized!
.
Beach Fanatic
Trying to post this... not sure it will work. It's interesting. Better reconsider your thoughts on corporal punishment. It isn't "common knowledge" that is detrimental. It isn't actually "archaic" at all. Am I comfortable with someone other than me implementing this type of behavior modification on my child... well, no. But just because you've heard something over and over doesn't make it true.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN (SPANKING)
Thanks to Dr. Paul Poelstra, who maintained this web page until his retirement in 2008. We plan to update it in the near future. Click here for more recent publications.
This page provides links and references to research on corporal punishment of children in the home and critiques of the anti-spanking research. Some of these critiques can be used in statistics and research design courses to illustrate methodological flaws that can occur in psychological research. These studies also illustrate the importance of going to the original sources and not relying on the media or other secondary sources when studying an area of research. Advocacy groups often over generalize research data ("research proves. . .") and/or ignore research studies which could provide a more balanced perspective on the issues. - Paul Poelstra, Ph.D.
Dr. Larzelere is concerned about the trend to adopt increasingly extreme anti-spanking bans throughout the world, bans that have no sound scientific basis. A press release opposing New Zealand's anti-spanking legislative bill, based on Larzelere's scientific evidence.
Contact Information for Robert Lazelere, Ph.D.
Larzelere presents annotated studies documenting the relevant scientific evidence demonstrating that there is no sound scientific evidence to support anti-spanking bans. This lack of evidence is a crucial issue when expanding prohibited types of corporal punishment from physical abuse to even the mildest forms of spanking or slapping a preschooler's hand.
A submission to the UN Study on Violence Against Children, written by Larzelere on behalf of the American College of Pediatricians. This piece emphasizes the need to balance advocacy with science. Otherwise years will be wasted in advocacy-based programs that are well-intentioned, but that thwart objective scientific evidence on the effectiveness of those programs
Larzelere responds to Dr. Durrant's criticisms of his booklet comparing their respective published evaluations of Sweden's 1979 spanking ban. Dr. Durrant's data sources indicate an increase in physical child abuse and of criminal assaults by juvenile delinquents since the spanking ban. Although these increases cannot be proven to have been caused by the spanking ban, the increases cannot be easily explained away, either.
Larzelere and Kuhn's summary of their latest meta-analysis and its importance. It is the first scientific review that compares child outcomes of physical punishment vs. alternative tactics that parents could use instead. The authors demonstrate that the following alternative disciplinary measures had significantly worse outcomes than conditional spanking for either noncompliance (N) or antisocial aggression (A) or both: Reasoning (N & A), Threats or verbal power assertion (N), Privilege removal (N), Time out or isolation (A), Ignoring (N), Love withdrawal (A), Restraint or physical power assertion (N), Child-determined end to time out (N), Scolding (A), and Diverting (A).
For a pdf copy of Larzelere and Kuhn's article Comparing child outcomes of physical punishment and alternative discipline tactics: A meta-analysis send your request via email to Robert.Larzelere@okstate.edu along with a brief rationale for wanting a copy.
In a recent article about the intervention selection bias, Larzelere shows that the research methods generally used to find detrimental child outcomes from nonabusive spanking would also find equally detrimental outcomes from recommended disciplinary techniques.
Larzelere presented a paper at a conference on The Future of Longitudinal Studies sponsored by The Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley. In this summary he explains the three requirements for making a valid causal inference. He demonstrates how selection bias provides a plausible explanation for the association between mental health treatments and increased risk of suicide in young people. The selection bias can also be shown to apply to power assertive disciplinary settings.
At the same conference Diana Baumrind presented a paper on When are Causal Inferences Justified in the Debate about Physical Discipline "Effects"?
Recently, Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, PhD, published a review in the Psychological Bulletin (2002) which has received extensive media attention. In a critique of her article, Larzelere highlights two important issues that can be applied to a wide range of psychological research: 1) the limitations of correlational research in terms of making causal statements and 2) the importance of operational definitions. Also see Baumrind, Cowan & Larzelere Ordinary Physical Punishment: Is It Harmful? Comment on Gershoff (2002), Psychological Bulletin, 128, 580-589.
A Comparison of Two Recent Reviews of Scientific Studies of Physical Punishment by Parents by Larzelere, June 2002. In a more comprehensive review of Gershoff's article, Larzelere shows that "child outcomes associated with ordinary physical punishment are also associated with alternative disciplinary tactics when similar research methods are used. Detrimental child outcomes are associated with the frequency of any disciplinary tactic, not just physical punishment. Therefore, it is the excessive misbehavior that is the actual cause of detrimental outcomes in children."
"Not one of the 17 causally relevant studies found predominantly detrimental outcomes if they did anything to rule out parents who used physical punishment too severely." p. 209 This is Larzelere's conclusion in a recent review of outcomes associated with nonabusive physical punishment in Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review in Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 2000, 3(4):199-221 (the December 2000 issue).
Larzelere/Straus Debate (June, 1999) A summary of Dr. Larzelere's presentation in a debate with Straus about spanking. In this summary, Larzelere reports that the small detrimental child outcomes reported by Straus, Sugarman & Giles-Sims (1997) for 6- to 9-year-olds is not unique to spanking. A further analysis of the Straus, et al. data revealed that identical small detrimental child outcomes were also found for all four alternative disciplinary responses for 6- to 9-year-olds (grounding, sending the child to a room, removing privileges, and taking away an allowance). The debate was held at a conference of the National Foundation for Family Research and Education at Banff in Alberta, Canada.
Combining Love and Limits in Authoritative Parenting: A Conditional Sequence Model of Disciplinary Responses Dr. Larzelere presented this paper at a University of Wisconsin conference on Parenthood in America (April 19-21, 1998). He outlines "a conditional sequence model of optimal disciplinary responses and shows its consistency with a wide range of research. The model suggests that optimal disciplinary responses begin with less severe tactics, such as reasoning, but proceed to firmer disciplinary tactics when the initial tactic achieves neither compliance nor an acceptable compromise." This paper provides an excellent overview of Larzelere's "both-and" model of parental discipline.
Dr. Diana Baumrind: "Methodologically strong studies have not established that normative physical punishment is a causal risk factor for the detrimental child outcomes with which it may be associated. . . a blanket injunction against disciplinary spanking is not warranted by causally relevant scientific evidence." This quote is from Baumrind's (University of California, Berkeley) invited address at the 109th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association meeting, August 24, 2001. She spoke on "Does Causally Relevant Research Support A Blanket Injunction Against Disciplinary Spanking by Parents?"
Baumrind's APA paper is available on her website at http://ihd.berkeley.edu Click on News and Events. You will find her paper under IHD News Archives. There her presentation is described and the viewer can download her paper and her tables. Her paper is outstanding. A brief summary of her research is found in this press release.
Larzelere, Straus, and Rosemond debate about whether corporal punishment should be considered abuse, in Debating Children's Lives pdf (1994)
Sweden - "Where is Evidence That Non-Abusive Corporal Punishment Increases Aggression?" This paper reviews the evidence on whether the 1979 Swedish law against all corporal punishment has been associated with a reduction in child abuse.
Sweden - Assaults on Children in Sweden Dr. Larzelere compares his conclusions and the evidence for them with those of Durrant (1999) regarding the success of Sweden's ban on spanking. A more recent critique appears in the Autumn 2001 issue of Families First (page 12) pdf.
Statistics from Sweden - Assaults on Children based on police-record data of physical assaults of children under 7 years of age (Wittrock, 1992, 1995).
Dr. Diana Baumrind (Institute for Human Development at the University of California-Berkeley) thoughts on corporal punishment from a leading developmental psychologist. This correspondence was written to Bob Larzelere which he posted on the listserv called FAMLYSCI.
Spare the Rod? Den A. Trumbull, M.D. and S. DuBose Ravenel, M.D. (both practicing board-certified pediatricians) respond to various objections to the use of corporal punishment and offer guidelines for disciplinary spanking. As they point out, many articles in this area are "merely opinion-driven editorials, reviews or commentaries, devoid of new empirical findings."
Bartkowski, John and W. Bradford Wilcox. "Conservative Protestant Child Discipline: The Case of Parental Yelling.". Princeton, NJ - A new study casts doubts on previous assertions that conservative Protestant parents are abusive and authoritarian.
Larzelere Bibliography Dr. Larzelere has published a number of research studies and literature reviews which examine the effects of nonabusive spanking on young children.
Gunnoe & Mariner (1997) Toward a Developmental-Contextual Model of the Effects of Parental Spanking on Children's Aggression. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:768-775 A well designed study that critically examines the claim that spanking teaches children that physical aggression can be used appropriately in conflict situations
Corporal Punishment by David Benatar (1998). A philosopher analyzes the anti-spanking arguments that corporal punishment is degrading, that it is psychologically damaging, that it teaches the child that violence is an appropriate way to settle disagreements, etc. He demonstrates that these arguments fail for lack of evidence and/or are logically unsound. Social Theory & Practice, Summer 1998, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p.237
"When to Spank" USNEWS & World Report. An excellent and fairly comprehensive review of corporal punishment and related research issues appears in the April 13, 1998 issue of USNEWS. References are made to Larzelere's research as well as Straus' studies.
Straus, M. A., Sugarman, D. B., & Giles-Sims, J. (1997). Spanking by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 761-767. This correlational study was widely and sometimes uncritically reported in the media in the summer of '97. Despite serious methodological weaknesses and some concerns regarding the statistical analyses, this study is frequently cited to support the anti-spanking position.
CRITIQUES OF THE STRAUS' ET AL. STUDY
Critique A critique and evaluation by Larzelere. Also see Larzelere/Straus Debate for some interesting results of a reanalysis of the Straus data.
Corporal Punishment and Antisocial Behavior By B. K. Ambati, J. Ambati, and A.M Rao. The authors provide a cogent critique of the methodology and statistics used in the Straus study.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:303
Two Emerging Perspectives of Parental Spanking From Two 1996 Conferences By Bob Larzelere, Diana Baumrind and Ken Polite. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:303-305
One of the better reviews in the popular media of the Straus et al. study appears in the April 14, 1997 issue of TIME Spare the Rod? Maybe Some of Dr. Trumbull's concerns about their study are highlighted in the article.
Academics
Research
Extension and Engagement
Administration
OSU CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES | OSU-INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | OSU-OKLAHOMA CITY | OSU-STILLWATER | OSU-TULSA
Copyright © Oklahoma State University All rights reserved | Stillwater, OK 74078 | 405.744.5000
Accessibility | Safety | Legal and Trademarks | Campus Map | Sitemap | Webmaster
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN (SPANKING)
Thanks to Dr. Paul Poelstra, who maintained this web page until his retirement in 2008. We plan to update it in the near future. Click here for more recent publications.
This page provides links and references to research on corporal punishment of children in the home and critiques of the anti-spanking research. Some of these critiques can be used in statistics and research design courses to illustrate methodological flaws that can occur in psychological research. These studies also illustrate the importance of going to the original sources and not relying on the media or other secondary sources when studying an area of research. Advocacy groups often over generalize research data ("research proves. . .") and/or ignore research studies which could provide a more balanced perspective on the issues. - Paul Poelstra, Ph.D.
Dr. Larzelere is concerned about the trend to adopt increasingly extreme anti-spanking bans throughout the world, bans that have no sound scientific basis. A press release opposing New Zealand's anti-spanking legislative bill, based on Larzelere's scientific evidence.
Contact Information for Robert Lazelere, Ph.D.
Larzelere presents annotated studies documenting the relevant scientific evidence demonstrating that there is no sound scientific evidence to support anti-spanking bans. This lack of evidence is a crucial issue when expanding prohibited types of corporal punishment from physical abuse to even the mildest forms of spanking or slapping a preschooler's hand.
A submission to the UN Study on Violence Against Children, written by Larzelere on behalf of the American College of Pediatricians. This piece emphasizes the need to balance advocacy with science. Otherwise years will be wasted in advocacy-based programs that are well-intentioned, but that thwart objective scientific evidence on the effectiveness of those programs
Larzelere responds to Dr. Durrant's criticisms of his booklet comparing their respective published evaluations of Sweden's 1979 spanking ban. Dr. Durrant's data sources indicate an increase in physical child abuse and of criminal assaults by juvenile delinquents since the spanking ban. Although these increases cannot be proven to have been caused by the spanking ban, the increases cannot be easily explained away, either.
Larzelere and Kuhn's summary of their latest meta-analysis and its importance. It is the first scientific review that compares child outcomes of physical punishment vs. alternative tactics that parents could use instead. The authors demonstrate that the following alternative disciplinary measures had significantly worse outcomes than conditional spanking for either noncompliance (N) or antisocial aggression (A) or both: Reasoning (N & A), Threats or verbal power assertion (N), Privilege removal (N), Time out or isolation (A), Ignoring (N), Love withdrawal (A), Restraint or physical power assertion (N), Child-determined end to time out (N), Scolding (A), and Diverting (A).
For a pdf copy of Larzelere and Kuhn's article Comparing child outcomes of physical punishment and alternative discipline tactics: A meta-analysis send your request via email to Robert.Larzelere@okstate.edu along with a brief rationale for wanting a copy.
In a recent article about the intervention selection bias, Larzelere shows that the research methods generally used to find detrimental child outcomes from nonabusive spanking would also find equally detrimental outcomes from recommended disciplinary techniques.
Larzelere presented a paper at a conference on The Future of Longitudinal Studies sponsored by The Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley. In this summary he explains the three requirements for making a valid causal inference. He demonstrates how selection bias provides a plausible explanation for the association between mental health treatments and increased risk of suicide in young people. The selection bias can also be shown to apply to power assertive disciplinary settings.
At the same conference Diana Baumrind presented a paper on When are Causal Inferences Justified in the Debate about Physical Discipline "Effects"?
Recently, Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, PhD, published a review in the Psychological Bulletin (2002) which has received extensive media attention. In a critique of her article, Larzelere highlights two important issues that can be applied to a wide range of psychological research: 1) the limitations of correlational research in terms of making causal statements and 2) the importance of operational definitions. Also see Baumrind, Cowan & Larzelere Ordinary Physical Punishment: Is It Harmful? Comment on Gershoff (2002), Psychological Bulletin, 128, 580-589.
A Comparison of Two Recent Reviews of Scientific Studies of Physical Punishment by Parents by Larzelere, June 2002. In a more comprehensive review of Gershoff's article, Larzelere shows that "child outcomes associated with ordinary physical punishment are also associated with alternative disciplinary tactics when similar research methods are used. Detrimental child outcomes are associated with the frequency of any disciplinary tactic, not just physical punishment. Therefore, it is the excessive misbehavior that is the actual cause of detrimental outcomes in children."
"Not one of the 17 causally relevant studies found predominantly detrimental outcomes if they did anything to rule out parents who used physical punishment too severely." p. 209 This is Larzelere's conclusion in a recent review of outcomes associated with nonabusive physical punishment in Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review in Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 2000, 3(4):199-221 (the December 2000 issue).
Larzelere/Straus Debate (June, 1999) A summary of Dr. Larzelere's presentation in a debate with Straus about spanking. In this summary, Larzelere reports that the small detrimental child outcomes reported by Straus, Sugarman & Giles-Sims (1997) for 6- to 9-year-olds is not unique to spanking. A further analysis of the Straus, et al. data revealed that identical small detrimental child outcomes were also found for all four alternative disciplinary responses for 6- to 9-year-olds (grounding, sending the child to a room, removing privileges, and taking away an allowance). The debate was held at a conference of the National Foundation for Family Research and Education at Banff in Alberta, Canada.
Combining Love and Limits in Authoritative Parenting: A Conditional Sequence Model of Disciplinary Responses Dr. Larzelere presented this paper at a University of Wisconsin conference on Parenthood in America (April 19-21, 1998). He outlines "a conditional sequence model of optimal disciplinary responses and shows its consistency with a wide range of research. The model suggests that optimal disciplinary responses begin with less severe tactics, such as reasoning, but proceed to firmer disciplinary tactics when the initial tactic achieves neither compliance nor an acceptable compromise." This paper provides an excellent overview of Larzelere's "both-and" model of parental discipline.
Dr. Diana Baumrind: "Methodologically strong studies have not established that normative physical punishment is a causal risk factor for the detrimental child outcomes with which it may be associated. . . a blanket injunction against disciplinary spanking is not warranted by causally relevant scientific evidence." This quote is from Baumrind's (University of California, Berkeley) invited address at the 109th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association meeting, August 24, 2001. She spoke on "Does Causally Relevant Research Support A Blanket Injunction Against Disciplinary Spanking by Parents?"
Baumrind's APA paper is available on her website at http://ihd.berkeley.edu Click on News and Events. You will find her paper under IHD News Archives. There her presentation is described and the viewer can download her paper and her tables. Her paper is outstanding. A brief summary of her research is found in this press release.
Larzelere, Straus, and Rosemond debate about whether corporal punishment should be considered abuse, in Debating Children's Lives pdf (1994)
Sweden - "Where is Evidence That Non-Abusive Corporal Punishment Increases Aggression?" This paper reviews the evidence on whether the 1979 Swedish law against all corporal punishment has been associated with a reduction in child abuse.
Sweden - Assaults on Children in Sweden Dr. Larzelere compares his conclusions and the evidence for them with those of Durrant (1999) regarding the success of Sweden's ban on spanking. A more recent critique appears in the Autumn 2001 issue of Families First (page 12) pdf.
Statistics from Sweden - Assaults on Children based on police-record data of physical assaults of children under 7 years of age (Wittrock, 1992, 1995).
Dr. Diana Baumrind (Institute for Human Development at the University of California-Berkeley) thoughts on corporal punishment from a leading developmental psychologist. This correspondence was written to Bob Larzelere which he posted on the listserv called FAMLYSCI.
Spare the Rod? Den A. Trumbull, M.D. and S. DuBose Ravenel, M.D. (both practicing board-certified pediatricians) respond to various objections to the use of corporal punishment and offer guidelines for disciplinary spanking. As they point out, many articles in this area are "merely opinion-driven editorials, reviews or commentaries, devoid of new empirical findings."
Bartkowski, John and W. Bradford Wilcox. "Conservative Protestant Child Discipline: The Case of Parental Yelling.". Princeton, NJ - A new study casts doubts on previous assertions that conservative Protestant parents are abusive and authoritarian.
Larzelere Bibliography Dr. Larzelere has published a number of research studies and literature reviews which examine the effects of nonabusive spanking on young children.
Gunnoe & Mariner (1997) Toward a Developmental-Contextual Model of the Effects of Parental Spanking on Children's Aggression. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:768-775 A well designed study that critically examines the claim that spanking teaches children that physical aggression can be used appropriately in conflict situations
Corporal Punishment by David Benatar (1998). A philosopher analyzes the anti-spanking arguments that corporal punishment is degrading, that it is psychologically damaging, that it teaches the child that violence is an appropriate way to settle disagreements, etc. He demonstrates that these arguments fail for lack of evidence and/or are logically unsound. Social Theory & Practice, Summer 1998, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p.237
"When to Spank" USNEWS & World Report. An excellent and fairly comprehensive review of corporal punishment and related research issues appears in the April 13, 1998 issue of USNEWS. References are made to Larzelere's research as well as Straus' studies.
Straus, M. A., Sugarman, D. B., & Giles-Sims, J. (1997). Spanking by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 761-767. This correlational study was widely and sometimes uncritically reported in the media in the summer of '97. Despite serious methodological weaknesses and some concerns regarding the statistical analyses, this study is frequently cited to support the anti-spanking position.
CRITIQUES OF THE STRAUS' ET AL. STUDY
Critique A critique and evaluation by Larzelere. Also see Larzelere/Straus Debate for some interesting results of a reanalysis of the Straus data.
Corporal Punishment and Antisocial Behavior By B. K. Ambati, J. Ambati, and A.M Rao. The authors provide a cogent critique of the methodology and statistics used in the Straus study.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:303
Two Emerging Perspectives of Parental Spanking From Two 1996 Conferences By Bob Larzelere, Diana Baumrind and Ken Polite. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:303-305
One of the better reviews in the popular media of the Straus et al. study appears in the April 14, 1997 issue of TIME Spare the Rod? Maybe Some of Dr. Trumbull's concerns about their study are highlighted in the article.
Academics
Research
Extension and Engagement
Administration
OSU CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES | OSU-INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | OSU-OKLAHOMA CITY | OSU-STILLWATER | OSU-TULSA
Copyright © Oklahoma State University All rights reserved | Stillwater, OK 74078 | 405.744.5000
Accessibility | Safety | Legal and Trademarks | Campus Map | Sitemap | Webmaster
Edited
Beach Fanatic
I attended school in Walton County and had a paddle applied to my posterior on occasion. It did not kill me or injure me or scar me but the threat probably did keep me in line for the most part. I also knew that if I got in trouble at school Dad would do far worse than the school when I got home. I avoided trouble and managed to learn a little in the bargain. Schools need every tool they can get to keep order and maintain a learning environment. Corporal Punishment is one of those tools. There seemed to be alot less serious issues in schools when the practice was more widespread.
Beach Fanatic
Back in the dinosaur age, I only got paddled once (got caught smoking at school) and it was my choice - three licks or three days suspended - unexcused absences, no opportunity for makeup work. Since I was hoping to be valedictorian, I didn't want to miss assignments, and I knew that if I was suspended my mom would find out. So I took three hard licks to the bootie. It's not like they whip you with a belt or slapped your face, both of which I knew I was subject to at home. It wasn't child abuse, it was discipline. Stay between the lines and you will be fine.
Fast forward thirty years - I had no problem with giving permission with corporal punishment, with respectfully asking that I be called first and notified of the offense. He never needed it, and I haven't heard of ANYBODY being paddled in any of the South end schools in years. (I do know some kids who needed an attitude adjustment. I've also heard paddling is more prevalent in the north end. No surprise, as it is an accepted form of discipline in most of the native families.)
The moral...we are not backwards or anything else because corporal punishment is allowed in our schools. Stay out of trouble, and it isn't an issue.
Fast forward thirty years - I had no problem with giving permission with corporal punishment, with respectfully asking that I be called first and notified of the offense. He never needed it, and I haven't heard of ANYBODY being paddled in any of the South end schools in years. (I do know some kids who needed an attitude adjustment. I've also heard paddling is more prevalent in the north end. No surprise, as it is an accepted form of discipline in most of the native families.)
The moral...we are not backwards or anything else because corporal punishment is allowed in our schools. Stay out of trouble, and it isn't an issue.
Beach Fanatic
Amen Shallownole. I think it is much preferable to paddle them and move on rather than suspend them. How can a child learn if they are not in school?
SoWal Insider
Amen Shallownole. I think it is much preferable to paddle them and move on rather than suspend them. How can a child learn if they are not in school?
Yes, Amen!
Beach Fanatic
Sorry, corporeal punishment in schools is backwards. It is illegal in over half the states in our country and outlawed in most developed countries altogether. How parents wish to discipline their children at home is their business, but there is no place for applying pain to a child for infractions incurred at school in this day and age. Period.
SoWal Guide
Sorry, corporeal punishment in schools is backwards. It is illegal in over half the states in our country and outlawed in most developed countries altogether. How parents wish to discipline their children at home is their business, but there is no place for applying pain to a child for infractions incurred at school in this day and age. Period.
agreed. there are many more effective ways to teach a child a lesson.
Beach Lover
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/ne...arrassing-sign-as-punishment-for-bad-behavior
Good ol' fashioned public humiliation
Good ol' fashioned public humiliation
A Miami Gardens mother opted for public humiliation as a creative punishment for her misbehaving son. When Freddie McCloud got into a fight at school, his mother, Norlisha Norris decided to scold McCloud by having him hold a neon green sign in public that read, “I don't know how to behave in school. If I continue, I will end up working hard for little money”.
McCloud had to stand at an intersection for two hours while many drove by, honking, staring and laughing.
Although Norris knew her son was embarrassed, she felt it was necessary.
“Whatever it takes to make him behave, I’m willing to do it. Overall, my son is a good boy, he really is. But I just want him to realize that making bad choices later in life you're going to have to pay for the bad choices,” Norris said.
McCloud said he learned his lesson and won't get into trouble anymore.
Edited
Admin
Ahh yes - the scarlet letter (or neon green) method.
SoWal Guide
My mom just gave me a good old fashioned Italian screaming, laying on the guilt thick with her words. Not all that effective, but... everyone has their way.
The schools, however, have a responsibility to teach acceptable behavior (along with academics) using methods which are effective, respectful, consistent, and reflect advanced practices (not practices from last century).
The schools, however, have a responsibility to teach acceptable behavior (along with academics) using methods which are effective, respectful, consistent, and reflect advanced practices (not practices from last century).
SoWal Expert
I just can't wrap my head around the idea of my teacher paddling me. That would be SO weird.
Beach Fanatic
So you only have a problem with a teacher paddling you Scooterbug? 
SoWal Expert
Beach Lover
Corporal Punishment Policy
As most of you know, JDARG and I usually agree on matters regarding our school district. And, I have to say, I am encouraged by the positive comments on this board regarding the district. We are certainly progressing throughout the county, but, with any organization the size of our district, there remains problems and concerns, but, generally, we have a very good system that values kids and prepares them for the future. With that said, our corporal punishment policy is certainly a compromise. We drafted a policy that allow parents a choice. Ultimately, under the policy, the parents decide if corporal punishment at the school is best for their child. As a parent who will have a kidergarten student (insert your joke about my age here!), my wife and I have not decided if we will allow it or not. The policy is an attempt to allow the form of punishment for the parents who want it and an opt out for the parents who do not.
As for the extra curricular activities policy; well, that one is mine. As most of you know, I am a huge supporter of extra curricular activities and believe that sports, art, music, etc., are a big part of a child's education. However, it is extra curricular and participation should be an earned. When you play football at South Walton High School you represent the school, community, your family and friends. You are esteemed and should be held to a higher standard for behavior. If you commit a crime and you are under the supervision of the State of Florida, it is my opinion that you have forfeited that right to represent your school and community. Once the supervision is complete, you should play. But, do you really want a kid who is wearing an ankle bracelet for supervision to travel on a bus with other kids, take the bracelet off and then participate? I hope the policy informs kids that if they behave badly, then, one consequence is that they will have to sit on the sidelines until they have completed their sentence.
Most coaches, sponsors, embraced the policy and even when it has had to be enforced, we have not always lost the kid. The adults do a pretty good job of making sure the kid understands that is it part of their punishmentand and they can come back, if they behave.
I know some people think the policy is harsh, but, I really believe it has been successful in encouraging kids to behave. Thanks, guys....
As most of you know, JDARG and I usually agree on matters regarding our school district. And, I have to say, I am encouraged by the positive comments on this board regarding the district. We are certainly progressing throughout the county, but, with any organization the size of our district, there remains problems and concerns, but, generally, we have a very good system that values kids and prepares them for the future. With that said, our corporal punishment policy is certainly a compromise. We drafted a policy that allow parents a choice. Ultimately, under the policy, the parents decide if corporal punishment at the school is best for their child. As a parent who will have a kidergarten student (insert your joke about my age here!
), my wife and I have not decided if we will allow it or not. The policy is an attempt to allow the form of punishment for the parents who want it and an opt out for the parents who do not. As for the extra curricular activities policy; well, that one is mine. As most of you know, I am a huge supporter of extra curricular activities and believe that sports, art, music, etc., are a big part of a child's education. However, it is extra curricular and participation should be an earned. When you play football at South Walton High School you represent the school, community, your family and friends. You are esteemed and should be held to a higher standard for behavior. If you commit a crime and you are under the supervision of the State of Florida, it is my opinion that you have forfeited that right to represent your school and community. Once the supervision is complete, you should play. But, do you really want a kid who is wearing an ankle bracelet for supervision to travel on a bus with other kids, take the bracelet off and then participate? I hope the policy informs kids that if they behave badly, then, one consequence is that they will have to sit on the sidelines until they have completed their sentence.
Most coaches, sponsors, embraced the policy and even when it has had to be enforced, we have not always lost the kid. The adults do a pretty good job of making sure the kid understands that is it part of their punishmentand and they can come back, if they behave.
I know some people think the policy is harsh, but, I really believe it has been successful in encouraging kids to behave. Thanks, guys....
SoWal ExpertAuthor
Thank you for the info Mark. I would rather see time off from extra-curricular activities than spanking- the messages sent for the first is about consequences for bad behavior and for the second is just violence.
It appears that individual schools in the state can opt out of the the corporal punishment policy. If, as it has been stated, the South Walton schools are truly not really using it, then it would be great if we could join the schools in many other districts in Florida and other states and just remove it from the code of conduct. Let's start being at the forefront on all aspects of the educational process, and not be tagging along behind playing catchup. Even what many consider "not a big deal" just chips away at Walton County not being the best we can be.
It appears that individual schools in the state can opt out of the the corporal punishment policy. If, as it has been stated, the South Walton schools are truly not really using it, then it would be great if we could join the schools in many other districts in Florida and other states and just remove it from the code of conduct. Let's start being at the forefront on all aspects of the educational process, and not be tagging along behind playing catchup. Even what many consider "not a big deal" just chips away at Walton County not being the best we can be.
Beach Lover
Thanks JDARG. I believe individual school districts can opt out. Given the incredible diversity in our county, I thought the individual parent opt out was a decent compromise.
SoWal Guide
Thanks JDARG. I believe individual school districts can opt out. Given the incredible diversity in our county, I thought the individual parent opt out was a decent compromise.
The existence of such a policy sends the wrong message to kids, families, educators, imo. The fact that physical punishment is an option, inflicted by educators, reflects upon what kind of educational philosophy and practices are embraced by the school district. I personally know of more than one family who refuses public education in Walton County - in large part because of the existence of that policy - it is the principle behind the policy - the idea of it being acceptable to educators in the first place. Having the OPTION to have your kid spanked or not doesn't quite overcome the bad idea of the policy to exist in the first place.
Regarding the policy of removing privileges such as extracurricular activities - that is not new to most school districts - and I do believe extracurricular activities should be earned. They should be viewed as a privilege for students who follow the rules and do well in school.
Beach Lover
Thanks, I appreciate your opinion. I doubt corporal punishiment would be effective in every school in our district or for every family in our district. I understand you concerns about having the policy in place.
Beach Fanatic
I've never understood why it is legal in some schools for an adult to strike a child yet it is illegal for an adult to strike another adult. Striking a child in any way is just not the way to go about incorporating change. Sure, it may get there attention, but there are better ways - always.
I'm with you 100% jdarg!
I'm with you 100% jdarg!
SoWal ExpertAuthor
Ya know, I just think that we owe our kids a bit more than just "doing things like they have always been done". Sometimes the old ways are not the best ways, especially when times, cultures, attitudes, families, society, the world, the economy, education (i could go on and on) are all so different than "in the old days".
Checking your forum account
Please wait while we verify your forum account.