There still is corporal punishement in schools?!
In the New York Times I kayaked two days ago through the lake, I came upon this surprising fact that about twenty (Southern and Western) American States still allow for corporal punishement in schools. On an absolute ethical basis, I find this quite apalling and against basic human rights, not to mention useless for educational purposes. On a relative basis, I am also surprised that parents from a society that is so ready for judiciary action at the slighest offence, can accept adults raising hands on their children.The New York Times paper is even making a stronger case against corporal punishement by pointing out that disabled students like autists are spanked more than others, with obviously even less impact on their scholarly improvement…
August 16, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I have no idea what goes on in French schools, so you’re probably right that it doesn’t happen often. Indeed, the information on the website for the “Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children” seems to exaggerate statements about countries whose education systems I am familiar with.
It may be technically legal but de facto illegal. In any case, when a teacher slaps a student this wouldn’t be covered by corporal punishment law since it is simply an act of violence and not part of any ‘educational’ framework.
August 16, 2009 at 9:45 am
While this is surprising, it is interesting to see the status of school corporal punishment in many other countries as well. In France, for example, it is technically legal but the sources I’ve found vary quite a bit when stating how widespread it is. Maybe this is due to regional differences.
The article linked below is fascinating in that it describes a situation where a teacher received a lot of public support after slapping a student, which of course can hardly even be classified as punishment.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832792,00.html
August 16, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I am quite skeptical about corporal punishment being legal in French schools, as there have been many cases in the recent past (like the one you pointed out) about teachers being suspended for slapping a student… In my opinion, this is still a physical aggression that should not be allowed.