Friday, October 11, 2013

Corporal punishment consent form in schools

Paddling children by school officials -are you for it or against it? In other words, should school teachers be allowed to paddle your child when they act up and would you sign a form?    I asked this question to friends, school teachers, police officers, city employees, and family. Currently GCCISD does not paddle children for any reason.

The officially statement from GCCISD is as follows: “Statement from Dr. Cavazos: At the July 22 regular meeting of the Goose Creek CISD Board of Trustees, Board members approved the Parent/Student Handbook containing the Student Code of Conduct for the 2013-2014 school year to reflect revisions, including the elimination of the utilization of corporal punishment in Goose Creek CISD. Susan Passmore  Goose Creek CISD Publications Coordinator 281.420.4863”

Bert Marshall: I am pro-corporal punishment and believe the elimination of it from our schools will fuel unruly behavior amongst some of our students.

J. Dykehouse: Heck yes, and then I would get that hiney when they got home!!!!

R. Cabaniss: Nope I don't want them paddling my child.

C. Lopez: Yes, I would allow this.

D. Elliott: Yes.

V. Marcott: I did sign the forms, never had a problem , but I'm old school. I thought they abolished that in the school the last couple of years, I may be wrong.

D. Johanningsmeier: Yes, it worked before everyone became so sensitive, and look what its brought us in our current crop of adults. Mom to son: Tommy if you don't behave I'll not stop at McDonald's. Back in my prehistoric times, being grounded meant no outdoor play time, no TV (we only had one), and no fun activities. Then there was my dad to deal with.  You just learned quickly to stay out of trouble.

T. Wheeler: No! Schools don't use the best judgment when they discipline!

S. Geocacher:  Nope. I wouldn't sign one. There is no accurate way to meter the amount of force used from teacher to teacher. I will not allow a government employee to hit my kid. No sir.  There were no consent forms when I was a kid and I was unjustly paddled many times by a several sadistic teachers who took any opportunity to give a paddling no matter how small the infraction. My kid isn't going to have that experience. Discipline starts at home.

B. R. Pugh: Yes

P. R. Jett:  No. I reserve that punishment for us. I don't trust a stranger to beat my children. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether or not WE spank them. I'm not into absolving myself of parental duties by shifting that responsibility to a school administrator or teacher. Especially not when you hear so many stories of teachers having inappropriate relationships with students. Obviously not all of them have the best judgment or self control. I'm far more in favor of making parents responsible for their children. Make the parents financially responsible for their minor children and you see a lot less parenting failures.

Bruno  Marshall: I DID sign a form
K. Wade: I sign it every year and they still don't use it.

S. Liles: Yes. Schools are just asking consent to continue your responsibility that starts at home. You understand home fails all the time. The best children are the trouble magnets of all time. In the 60's it was normal for three swats with a paddle with holes in it.

A. Gaitorbate: I got paddled a lot. By the time I got into Jr. High it was my choice of punishment. It was my way of showing them they couldn't hurt me no matter how hard they hit me.

A. Barbee: I begged the principal of my daughter's elementary school, Alamo, to spank her as needed. I told them word-for-word "Spank her as hard as you can. I don't care as long as you don't draw blood. Bruises and red marks are okay." They acted as if I had shot their dog or something. I told them "If you don't spank her, she won't mind for you. And since I won't be there to make her behave for you, you gotta make her behave for you."

R. Fitts:  Yes; my Dad said if you get in trouble in school you will also be in trouble at home...worse paddling I got was in Alabama from elementary old woman principal, she bruised the heck of me and my parents went to school about that... so some in school system may not be the ones to issue the paddling... In other schools the coach handled the paddling .. and yes I got it at home... but most of the time I was a good student

S. Garcia:  Yes.  I've signed the form every single year for it.
Teacher's aren't allowed to hit the kids. They have to go to the office where the assistant principal or an administrator would be the one to do it. Well that's how it has been since my son has been in school (he is 15 now) society is too sensitive. And it's why we are were we are. It's a shame.

E. Caldwell: I paddled my kids when needed and it didn’t take to many swats to make the point with them....both my kids are a credit to me....I have always said "what you do is a direct reflection on me"...."I know that I have raised you right and you are going to show the world that i have"! I never signed yes on the paper from school....they are MY kids.

T. Cormier: School principals should. I also believe that parent should have to come get their children if they do not want them paddled. I also want a camera in my classroom so that when momma and daddy say," My baby said you are the problem. They said they didn't do anything. You are picking on my baby." I can then push rewind and say," Let's see your little angel in action as he completely disrupts my classroom and impedes the learning of others. Which, by the way, I can be held accountable for on the STAAR." Cameras protect the teacher and the student.  I've been hit, kicked, and spit on. There is no accountability for the students these days. My husband is urging me to switch careers.

J. and D. Hewett-Staner: I don't think it is wrong but just not for us.

D. Smith: Nothing like numb butt cheeks to sit on the rest of the day....and look, I turned out ok. Seriously, ALL of my swats I got because of the 'code of silence'...if nobody told on the guy who really DID it, EVERYBODY got one.

A. Tallant: BBISD offers it and I haves signed off for them to be popped but I have to be called first before it happens! Colton has received 2 pops over his 6 yrs at BBHSD !
I have to be notified beforehand. Thank God I haven't had that problem yet.

B. Prewitt: Worked for me, why not. As a child there is a thin line between fear and respect.

K. Winkelmann: I'm for it! There would be a stipulation though that I be called, this way they get it twice! I only got pops twice in school and got them twice at home once the call was made! But since this has been taken out of school there has been nothing but problems!

W. Hickman: Absolutely.

N. Rice:  No.

J. Gipson:  Pro paddling. It worked on me

P.Gramling: It worked when I was in school, so why not now. I am totally for it as long as they don't abuse it...pun intended. What they should be concentrating on are the bullying...cyber and physical.  What they should be concentrating on are the bullying...cyber and physical.

M. Abernathy-Fowler: I think the old fashion paddling idea of a ruler across the palm in front of students should be allowed. I received that from Coach Richardon in the 12th grade! I almost made it through without a record! LOL Of course sadly the generations in schools today come from broken homes, neglect or abuse. A teacher facing an older student and be so close would need to be on guard for instilled anger to lash back at them. I resigned the education field in 1996 and could see what was beginning to transpire before I ended that career.

T. Harvey-Jones: Would sign and have signed.

J. Connaly Jr: All for it, with rules of course. Bert, I was never a "teacher". I've had classrooms full of students though. After my 1st day of teaching, my thoughts were that if I ever see a former teacher I'd apologize profusely. I was fortunate enough to apologize to my high school AG teacher and my junior high art teacher. The school districts need to grow some and enforce the rules they already have. Teachers being assaulted by little kids is easily fixed. Sorry, your kid can't come to our schools. The police in the schools should be for security, not as enforcers. The administrators use them as muscle. Can we be anymore ridiculous?

L. Wong: My mother used chopsticks and my dad used his belt. I was a model student so never got into much trouble. I would think that paddling is reactive rather than being proactive with trying to motive kids in school. Maybe we need volunteer mentors.

M. Marshall:  Yes, it worked fine when I was a kid. That is when I wasn't being det.

C. Corbello: I used to say NO, till I had a problem child that would go to school giving the teachers' hell saying YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME,, lol,, so I told them to whoop his A** if he misbehaves,,, he minded after that,, haha

S. Melton: I was paddled often in elementary school (I know, shocker!) usually for very minor infractions but I don't really remember getting in trouble at home so I guess the school paddlings were enough for me. I find that now, the kids who really NEED the pops have the parents who won't allow the schools to give them and the parents who allow the school to give pops are already doing a good job of taking care of business at home before it comes to school punishment.

D. Thornton: I worked off and on adolescent psyche units and most of the brats we got were undisciplined little monsters with "ADD" or "oppositional disorders" ie; we don't discipline of pay any attention to them at home. You have limited success with these kids because they know that they can whine to their parents and things will be the same when they get home. Most of the so called parents are in total denial or are too afraid that they won't be their kids' "friend" anymore.  Oh, and the parents would actually have to give up time on their favorite hobbies, clubs and activities to actually spend time with their kids and parent. God forbid!   Our superintendent kept a paddle hanging in plain sight in his office. Was enough to keep us all in line.
.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was in my mind on the previous thread you had, but I'm not sure if I said it:

Some experts say that kids who don't get spankings have a harder time empathizing with others. AB

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr. Marshall,

Thanks for your reply! I am the President of Tennesseans for Non Violent School Discipline http://forkidsake.org/

and the parent of 3 children who attend school in an Unresponsive "Paddling School District" Houston County, TN. I am vehemently opposed to schools hitting children to inflict pain as punishment for minor infractions and shocked that there are no safety standards. It is assault in public to take a wooden board and hit another person and not surprising that children are often injured and traumatized by school corporal punishment.

The reason I sent so many links is that I believe it is an opportunity to share the information that I have gathered to raise awareness of the many problems associated with school corporal punishment of children. I have never heard one legitimate reason for schools to hit children with paddles, especially when we teach our children from an early age that hitting is unacceptable. I believe that schools should include photos of the paddles they use to hit children in the "discipline" policy.

Schools claim that children on the "No Paddle List" will not be hit, but it happens all the time. Communication between schools and parents really is key to positive reinforcement of clear and age appropriate rules for children as well as modeling appropriate behavior and conflict resolution skills through communication, which corporal punishment does not achieve. Schools in 31 states and most large cities such as Austin, TX have banned the practice of corporal punishment and utilize School-wide Positive Behavior Support systems as encouraged by most states Boards of Education.

I've worked almost daily for over 5 years to Abolish Corporal Punishment of Children in ALL U.S. schools. Thank you for writing about this very important issue.

Anonymous said...

Nope. I still can’t go for paddling in schools. When my son was in 2nd grade the school wanted me to sign a paddling authorization for my son. The teacher didn’t like my son. I’ll admit, he was a handful maybe even border line ADD but to paddle a kid that they didn’t understand would have been a big mistake. About this time, Kevin was accepted into a gifted program and never had a problem in school again. K – 12 he received one “B” for handwriting in the 6th grade and all “A”s on all other report cards. He graduated from VSU with a degree in Anthropology and Biology, Sum Cum Lade. If I didn’t care about my son and if I wasn’t involved with his education I would have marched right down to the principal’s office and signed the authorization for Kevin to be paddled. Conversely, I marched down to the principal’s office and let her know that corporal punishment was not the answer. I might not have been real pleasant, either. With that said, for the parents who don’t have the time to raise their children and expect the school to teach their children everything—I support corporal punishment. But, maybe, if parents of disruptive students were mandated to spend time at school to control their children paddling wouldn’t be an issue. Just think if a parent had to give up a day’s pay to babysit their own child? Just a thought, Tim

Anonymous said...

I have a hard time blaming the schools for avoiding liability. One wrong decision and their career is over. Johnny tells Susie that Billy was smoking in the boys room. Susie tells her mom and the mom marches to school and demands that something be done about smoking in the boys room. So Billy is suspended, the schools places a monitor in the boys room, and everyone is happy. Really? Schools have to teach students to pass proficiency tests or lose Federal money. If the schools don’t have enough students pass the tests the schools are punished and they lose money. Recently in Atlanta several teachers and administrators were arrested for providing students with the answers to proficiency tests. In Georgia, it’s been suggested that teachers should take proficiency tests, too. School administrators and teachers are running scared because they are trying to protect their careers and I would still suggest that the vast majority still have a passion for teaching and helping our children. I coached little league baseball from T-ball to the Majors, I coached soccer for many years, and I taught and coached swimming. Why? Because my son wanted to play baseball, play soccer, and swim. I coached and we played to win! I made sure that every member of the team had a chance to contribute the our win or loss. I feel like the boys and girls I coached learned sportsmanship and how a team works. Where were the parents? I spent hours after practice waiting for parents to show and pick-up their children. I never left the children to fend for themselves. I was a fancy babysitter for all those years. The kids were great, even the bad ones, and their parents were terrible! In today’s climate I don’t know if I could do it all over again. Until parents become involved with their children I don’t see a solution. Schools have become elaborate day care centers. Our students are nothing more than a reflection of their parents. If there is no discipline at home then all the discipline in the World won’t make a difference at school. Where are the parents? I never have liked school administrators. I really dislike our entire school system. I think education needs a complete overhaul from Kindergarten through the Universities. This “no kid left behind” system is bull$hit! Oh well, this isn’t about me—honest! I’ve always wanted so much more from our schools and it’s there if you are willing to work for it. Oops! I’m rambling on…

Anonymous said...

Mr. Richards from CBJ
Thank you for whupping my behind...I NEEDED IT!

Brian C

Anonymous said...

There was an incident not too long ago in Springtown Texas that made the news. The mothers of two high school girls complained that their daughters were paddled by a male principle which was in violation of the school's own same gender paddling policy. The thing that really shocked me was that one of them had a male police officer as a witness. This principle must really be trying to humiliate these girls as much as possible. He could have chosen a female staff member to minimize the emotional damage but chose a male policeman instead. Involving the police in this is really crossing the line. Using a policeman as a witness could end up making female students distrusting of the police or give them a negative attitude toward law enforcement later on in their lives

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