The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published a policy paper examining a report the Human Rights Watch and the ACLU about corporal punishment in US schools. It provides a clear and powerful indictment of what amounts to a state-sanctioned assault on children.
A Violent Education
Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Public Schools
Every year in the United States at least 220,000 children in public schools are subjected to corporal punishment, or “paddling.” Permitted in 21 states, the practice leaves many children injured and disengaged from the process of learning. African-American students and students with mental or physical disabilities receive corporal punishment at disproportionately high rates, creating a hostile school environment in which these students may struggle to succeed.
This practice should stop. I hope readers will review A Violent Education and advocate an end to corporal punishment.
More recently, a task force of the American Psychological Association has examined the literature on punishment and recommended that caregivers eschew its use. There’s more about this on Behavior Mod Info.
Download the executive summary here and review an earlier post on TE about corporal punishment. Link to the entry about punishment on Behavior Mod Info.
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