Should the education system allow teachers and principals to "hit" students if they are misbehaving in class?

No

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by Mick Marten

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I attended a private school (Baptist) from fourth grade until graduation. When I first began attendance, parents were informed that the faculty reserved the right to discipline the children "any way that they saw fit". (This was the actual wording on the waiver) There were spankings, detentions, and kids slapped across the mouth for cursing or back-talking the teachers.

Our school actually had a faculty position called "Disciplinarian". This gentleman simply waited around for one of the teachers who was a bit squeamish about discipline, or who was a bit smaller than the intended disciplinee, to call, at which point he would arrive, and lay down the law ala Charles Bronson.

Looking back, I see now that this was as excessive as it sounds. All of us students survived it; but that doesn't mean that there isn't a better way.

Now, however, I look at the goings-on in the schools, and I fully understand why my school felt that swift and terrible punishment was the best way to maintain control. Things are way out of hand. If a student is spoken harshly to by a faculty member, or another student engages them in a pushing match in the hallway, suburban soccer moms are dialing the attorney's office on the way to pick them up from the office.

This is no joke. Lawsuits are filed by the parents of children who are bullied, and then, when the school is forced to act, a lawsuit is filed on behalf of the bully. And if the teacher scowls, or speaks crossly during any of this, the 'mental cruelty' and 'emotional suffering' tab expands dramatically. And the money sucked out of the school system by over-reacting parents and the avarice of personal damage attorneys detracts from the school's ability to educate.

The parents (actually the lawyers, by proxy) have effectively rendered the teachers impotent, since they have to fear the most outlandish consequences of their every action.

Now to the crux of the discussion. Do I think teachers should be able to hit students? No, I don't, and I'll explain why.

First of all, I believe that that particular level of discipline, where hands a laid on a child in any way, is the sovereign territory of the parent, or adults whom the parent has specifically entrusted to do this (i.e., family who watch the child, grandparents, etc.). This type of discipline requires the most intimate knowledge of the child, and their personality; some children need frequent correction in this way, and others should never be touched due to their overly-sensitive nature; most kids fall somewhere in between. A teacher just doesn't know a child well enough, even by year's end, to administer this type of punishment.

Secondly, for education to take place, a child has to open up to it. If the teacher has spanked, embarrassed, or caused the child any discomfort at all, this becomes much harder for the child to do. This is especially true for middle school students, suffering puberty, feeling awkward, and trying hard to establish their individuality.

So, how do I expect schools to keep control? I'm so glad you asked. I have a few suggestions.

In these litigious times parents freely file, and even more freely threaten lawsuits. In this environment, it is easy to see why corporal punishment must not be performed by the school, lest they spend education dollars on legal settlements. So I suggest that any time a child needs, in the opinion of the faculty, more discipline than they should be free to administer, the parent should be called, and required to pick up the child immediately to administer it. The child should be brought to the office, the parent called, and a time limit established (at the beginning of the year) for a parent to respond under these circumstances. When that time has elapsed, and the parent has failed to respond, the child should be reported as truant, and the parent can pick them up at their leisure from the police station. (Having to babysit, or detain a student is not what a school is for; they are for education).

If Mom and Dad demand that no one gets physical in disciplining their child (and they should demand that), then they must take that duty on themselves. Schools are not babysitters. They are charged with a specific task, and having to perform the parents' duties robs them of the time allotted to educate. If the parent wants to perform the discipline, then the school should be able to expect them to do it.

And little Jimmy would get his act together quickly if Dad or Mom had to leave work and lose wages because of his misbehavior. Parents who don't take any interest in their child's education, or behavior at school, suddenly would.

Basically, the school would be saying, "teaching him is our job, but making him behave is yours".

And I believe that if this situation arises a certain, preset number of times, suspensions should automatically be attached. Say, one day on the first occasion, three days for the second, and a week for the third. This would inconvenience Mom and Dad, causing them to either find child care (which costs money), or to stay home and watch little Jimmy themselves, and greatly improve their willingness to address their child's misbehavior.

Connecting your problems to the concerns of those who can correct your problems is the only effective way to get them corrected. This system would do that.

Of course, on the fourth time, the child would be expelled. But I think that once the parents are pressed into action, fourth infractions would become rare. In general, parents, once there interest is aroused, are very effective at behavioral instruction, if you know what I mean.

Parents should be the ones to administer any harsher discipline than a scolding; but this means that parents must make themselves available to do it, and be willing to do it. Many parents are not involved in their child's education, and this is one way to connect them to it by some of their most valued possessions; their time and their money. If they don't value teaching their child proper behavior, or how to conduct themselves in class, then they certainly value their income, and their convenience, both of which would be negatively impacted.

I don't think teachers should ever lay a hand on a child for disciplinary reasons, but I don't think that they should ever have to, either. Mom and Dad should be right there at a moment's notice, since they insist that this is their domain. That's fair.

So, by extension, it's fair for the school to require that parent to take care of issues arising in their domain; or to remove those non-education-relate d issues from the school.

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