Corporal Punishment in Schools Essay -- Essays Papers

Corporal Punishment in Schools I wrote this paper for Contemporary Moral Issues class. This was an assignment of our choice and I chose to do this topic, because the week before in Intro to Education we had discussed discipline methods and I was astonished to learn that corporal punishment still existed in schools. I am hoping that by including this piece of work on my webfolio others will become aware that corporal punishment is alive and used often in our schools. In the following paper I will discuss the controversial issue of the use of corporal punishment in schools. Supporters for corporal punishment say that it is a deterrent to misbehavior and delinquency, is needed to maintain discipline, and is not a form of child abuse. The position against corporal punishment says that it is of limited effectiveness, has potentially serious side effects, is a form of child abuse, and should be abolished in all schools. I think the position against corporal punishment should become the social or public policy. Corporal punishment should not be used as a form of discipline, because it leaves psychological and physical harm on children. The first key argument against corporal punishment that I will present is the argument that corporal punishment is a form of child abuse. The Policy Statement of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry states, "corporal punishment is a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child's unacceptable behavior and/or inappropriate language" (1). If one is deliberately inflicting pain on another, then that is for sure a form of abuse. Many students are physically and psychologically assaulted... ...htm 1. Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. Guidance for Effective Discipline." American Academy of Pediatrics 101 (April 1998) Database on-line. Available from ERIC, American Academy of Pediatrics. 1. Flynn, Clifton P. "Exploring the link between corporal punishment and children's cruelty to animals." Journal of Marriage and Family 61 (November 1999). Database on-line. Available from ProQuest. 3. Hyman, Irwin A. "Using research to change public policy: reflections on 20 years of efforts to eliminate corporal punishment in schools." Pediatrics 98 (October 1996). Database on-line. Available from ProQuest, Expanded Academic ASAP. 2-4. Hyman, Irwin A. and Pamela A. Shook. Dangerous Schools: What We Can Do about the Physicaland Emotional Abuse of Our Children. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, 1999. 3.