Tag Archives: punishment

Corporal Punishment Ban Undermining School Discipline – should read, lack of training undermining…

Around 12:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in a middle school classroom in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, a teacher approached a female student and asked her what she was writing in her notebook.

When the teacher tried to take the notebook, the student protested. The teacher hit her on the head and the student revolted, saying, “Is it right for a teacher to hit a student? Just teach!”

The student tried to leave the classroom but the teacher grabbed her neck and hair to force her to sit down. The student then grabbed the teacher’s hair.

An official at the education office said, “What teachers want most is alternatives to corporal punishment,” adding, “We will encourage implementing alternatives next week at the earliest.”

via english.donga.com

Aside from the fact that these problems occurred before the ban and stories are plentiful of large students beating their smaller teachers, this is a natural process of adjustment. There is a culture of violence in classrooms that relied on a mixture of affection and abuse to “control” students. New bans on corporal punishment are, thus, causing great consternation for teachers who relied on this method.

Schools need to provide better training and options for handling difficult students. One idea that some schools have implemented are “reflection rooms”. A mix of positive and negative engagement is probably best. The best way to improve student behavior is to engage them as individuals. Give them choice in their studies, projects, and interactions in the classroom. Respect their contributions. Of course, there are always going to be those who will not respond to this treatment (and teachers who are unable to do so for reasons of skill or simply oppressive teaching conditions and requirements). For those, more punitive measures may be more (at least immediately) effective. Detention, suspension, expulsion, labor (cleaning, volunteering), extra homework, seclusion, and removing of freedoms/opportunities discussed above are all possibilities.

Above was my measured response, and this is my emotional response. If you hit your student, you should not be a teacher. In fact, you should be arrested and charged with child abuse. Teachers who cling to these outdated, brutal classroom management techniques would be comfortable as prison camp guards, as their approaches are more akin to this profession than education. Those who cry that they cannot control their classroom without this brutality should ask themselves whether it is worth it? Is it worth torturing your students to help them? I hope that sounds as silly to you as it does to me.

Gyeonggi Province liberalizes student regulations – Still some defend the practice. Check out the pictures, just sick

Gyeonggi Province liberalizes student regulations
The student human rights ordinance includes S.Korea’s first ban on corporal punishment
» A collection of photos, provided by the students’ rights organization Internet Virus, shows bruises and scars from corporal punishment at South Korean schools.

By Hong Yong-duk, Senior staff writer

A “student human rights ordinance” including a complete ban on corporal punishment for elementary, middle, and high school students and liberalization of student hairstyles has been established for Gyeonggi Province. Revolutionary changes are expected in Korean school culture, as Gyeonggi is first of the nation’s 16 metropolitan and provincial offices of education to establish an ordinance spelling out the ban on student corporal punishment, which has been a customary practice in schools.
via english.hani.co.kr

Read the entire article. There are other changes as well that are long overdue, including fewer restrictions on hair style, expulsion of pregnant students, and forced attendance at religious events.

The Answer Sheet – Study says spanking can lead to aggressive behavior

Study says spanking can lead to aggressive behavior

A new study finds that children spanked frequently at the age of 3 are more likely to become aggressive when they are 5.

The study, led by Tulane University health researcher Catherine Taylor, says the finding remains true even when other factors–such as the parents’ stress level, depression, substance abuse, neglect, and the presence of other aggression within the family–are taken into account.

The study, “Mothers’ Spanking of 3-Year-Old Children and Subsequent Risk of Children’s Aggressive Behavior,” will appear in the May issue of Pediatrics.

The research study involved nearly 2,500 mothers. Almost 46 percent reported that they had not used corporal punishment on their child in the previous month, while 27.9 percent said they did one or two times and 26.5 percent reported spanking more than twice.

The mothers with more risk factors (stress, depression, drug/alcohol use) were more likely to spank frequently, but even accounting for that, frequent spanking at age 3 increased the odds of higher levels of aggression at age 5.

via voices.washingtonpost.com

Out of my research area, but certainly in my personal sphere. This has been assumed for many years, though little actual research existed to support the findings. I still wonder about the practical relevance. I’d like to know what qualified as aggressive behavior. Was it an unwillingness to share or beating another kid on the playground?

I am of the opinion that spanking is not necessary. Encourage good behavior through positive reinforcement and discourage bad behavior with negative reinforcement (not of the beating kind). In-between, give them attention and love. Ok, I know I sound sappy, but it is what it is.

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