In the past corporal punishment was used in many catholic schools as well as some public schools to punish children and teach them a lesson. This is still legal in nineteen states and should have no place in today’s school systems.
The Oyez, Body Politic “Ingraham v. Wright” articles tells to story of a student who went to the Supreme Court about his punishment in school. At Charles R. Drew Junior High School, James Ingraham, 14, was taken to the principal’s office for supposedly being rowdy in the auditorium. As a punishment, the principal decided on 5 swats with a paddle, but James refused the punishment. James was then held down as the principal gave him 20 swats.
“Where Corporal Punishment Is Still Used In Schools, Its Roots Run Deep” from nprED talks about a High School in North Carolina that gives their students the option of being “paddled” or receiving an in-school suspension. Robbinsville High School said, within the last year, 22 students have chose to be “paddled” because they didn’t want to miss class.
The students get the option if they want the physical punishment, so it’s totally fine right? Wrong. Even having this as an option is appalling. This “old school” style of punishment needs to be over.
“VI. Alternatives To Corporal Punishment” from hrw explains that giving students positive reinforcement to appropriate behavior, reduces the frequency of misbehavior by students. All though things like stickers or a prize may only seem to work with younger, elementary school children, it teaches them at a young age that good behavior is appreciated.
However, there are children who just misbehave, or are threatening to others, and need a way to be punished. It is said the correct way to do this is to hit them with a paddle, or even the “old fashion way” hit them with a ruler. There is no way to ensure that any punishment will make a child stop misbehaving, or having outbursts, so why teach them that violence is the answer? Teachers can be trained to properly restrain children in a way that is safe for themselves as well as the child or even isolate the child until they calm down.
A beating is no way of teaching a child a lesson, if anything it teaches them that a physical punishment is the only answer.

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