Should corporal punishment in US schools be allowed?

No

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by Asha Oshun'Mali

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Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools? It's funny, when I was growing up, corporal punishment-alias child abuse-was allowed in the schools I attended. Let's go back in time a minute. I was five years old. Even though the age for first grade was six-because my birthday was in the early fall-my mother was allowed to enroll me.

I was ecstatic about going to school. I already knew how to read and write; but the idea of actually being able to share that experience with other kids my age thrilled me. Even though I was a bit shy with my classmates, I loved everything about school at first, especially reading, coloring, and answering questions.

One day during a lesson on matching words to pictures, I raised my hand and stated the answer before being called on. I was not trying to cause class disruption. I was not trying to beat my classmates to the answer. I simply knew the answer and was excited to say what it was.

The classroom assistant, who was leading the discussion that day, asked me why I had not waited to be called on. I looked at her in confusion. I did not know what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind "I'm sorry," What happened next still plays out in vivid color in my memory.

With the silent support of the classrooms lead teacher, the assistant took a yard stick from the front of the room, and after having me stand up in front of the entire class, proceeded to whack me as hard as she could repeatedly until I could do nothing more than sob uncontrollably.

"You deserved that." She snapped unmercifully. "And you don't want to tell your mother either. She will beat you too. She knows you are supposed to wait until you are called on before you answer a question." I sat back down in my chair and placed my head on the desk top. I could not stop crying.

Throughout my childhood, violence from adults at school was real and present danger-signed and supported by parents and other adults. And I was not the only one living in fear. Many of my classmates also faced the terror of being hit with paddles, yardsticks, and hard hands.

I have spoken with many people who had similar experiences with corporal punishment in school. I have yet to meet one person-who even while nervously laughing retelling their own tales of sweaty palms, dry mouths and tremors as they waited for the "hickory stick licks", did not still look back on those moments with anger, confusion and fear.

My own first experience with corporal punishment was the last day that a school building would ever be a safe place where learning was fun and enjoyable. School from that time own, was a war zone for me.

I spent much of it either in trouble or looking out of the window-counting the moments until the day would be over and I could once again be back outside. It would not be until I entered college that learning would be an enjoyable experience again.

As a society of intelligent human beings, we have to come up with ways of discipline that will make children think about which behaviors will bring the best social results-without having them fear the "rod'. There are many children who do quite well and grow up to be decent citizens, without having to be hit by teachers and other educators while in school.

Perhaps, we should examine those educators who manage to reach the minds of even the toughest youth-without having to hand out a "beat down" with the days math and English worksheets. Wherever those pedagogical masters of school excellence are, we should find them-and beg them to show us-how to "raise a child up" from an educational stand point- with kind words and soft hands.

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