Paddling Children in School

They wouldn't be doing it to a child of mine. But all forms of corporal punishment are illegal in schools in Australia. Private or not.

That is exactly what I would have thought too here in the US. I did not think that paddling a child in school was legal.

only thing i could find is... Spanking supporters agree kids need strict discipline

Wow, I had no idea schools still did this. There was a 6th grade teacher when I was in grammar school who had a paddle. He'd threaten to use it but I'm unsure (I probably just don't remember) if he ever did.

I had a few teachers who revelled in using the paddle. I was their victim on numerous occasions. If any teacher wanted to hit my kids, they'd have to go through me first. Trust me, it wouldn't be pretty. I don't believe corporal punishment teaches anything but anger and defiance.

Hear, hear ! ! !


Corporal punishment was common when i went to elementary school in the fifties--and Ceili's statement is the most succinct expression of the lesson i drew from it . . .

I know it's not permitted in public schools here, but there are some private schools that still condone, and in some cases, advocate paddling and other forms of physical punishment. I would definitely ask specifically about what forms of discipline are used.

Here is a great article about spanking in schools. It is also very frightening at the number of children being spanked. http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/children/08/08/school.spanking/

Here are the states that do allow corporal punishment: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming

States and districts that DO NOT allow corporal punishment: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin

The 28 states (plus Washington D.C.) that have banned corporal punishment allow no form of physical punishment in school. Should your child be subjected to this type of abuse, remove him from the class and report the incident to the school superintendent

Now my state does not allow such punishment, but right in the school policy is written that they do paddle children. Is this against the law even for private schools? Anyone know? Because if so, I would not hesitate to report them. I will also ask this question in the legal category.

is spanking good for discipline or that will teach anger and defiance is actually not an issue here.
As well as if some schools permit it. Main fact is that these are your children and if you don't want them to be spanked no school can choose differently.

I remember that during my time at primary school - nearly 50 years back - one teacher did so (with a violine bow): he had to retire and got a criminal record.

That's an interesting list, Linkat. I live in Oklahoma, and I can tell you that corporal punishment is strictly against policy in our public schools. The law may be lagging behind.

Private schools are an entirely different matter. Most of the religious private schools here also have policies against corporal punishment. But not all. There are still some parents who believe in it and want it used in their private schools.

When I was in elementary school in Boston in the 60s, they used rulers and would hit you on the hand. being a goody-two-shoes, I never got hit, but my sister did. My mother went in and raised heck. They continued to hit, but not my sister.
I think it's barbaric. Why would you want to hit a kid?
Schools are allowed a certain bit of levity if a kid is a danger, but that's more restraining than hitting.

Ha. Ok, now I know where the question in the other thread came from.

Ask the school what the policy is and how it works. The school my daughter went to in OK used corporal punishment but the parents had to sign a release allowing the school to use it and they had to call the parent and get permission each and every time before they could.

Most of the parents I know signed the release at the begining of the school year just because the kid had to return it to the school and the kid would know if you had said "Yes" or "No". I only know of one parent that was ever called and asked after that and she said no and that was that.

The school still had to take the kids whether they were ever granted permission for the corporal punishment or not but it was the public school system.

Whoa, thanks for that link, linkat. Ohio allows it! I also thought it was just plain illegal, as it is in all states (MN, WI, CA, IL) where I've been involved in education/teaching.

Where in Oklahoma was that, fishin'? And when? I would really like to know.

You have a PM!

paddling in public schools
It's an unfortunate fact that in 22 states paddling and other forms of corporal punishment are legal. Edit (Moderator): Link removed is the site of Jordan Riak, advocate and former teacher opposed to this bazaar and sexual practice of adults......He has tons of information on the subject and some very graphic pictures of just a few of the multiple cases of injuries suffered by children exposed to this practice here: WARNING - These images may be deeply disturbing to some viewers. Do not open this page if children are present. Edit (Moderator): Link removed these pictures are very infuriating and extremely disturbing...Also some links to activists like him and what you can do about it...Corporal punishment, like it's 1st siblings torture, war and state ran executions are making a come back esp with the guise of fundamentalist religious ideologies on the rise. It is left up to the districts to decide if they wish to practice this behavior and most big school dists. have banned it...but, smaller dist. in the sticks and abroad practice it generously sighting the bible and other ideologic texts as the reason why.....You will also find when you try to do something about it that people in your community will line up on both sides defending or denouncing the view usually in equal proportions and many parents will just lack interest to get involved as they do in elections ect.......The best solution to your delime is homeschool your child then you don't have to worry about pedeophiles calling themselves teachers who like to endulge in a passion of maschocistic behavior that more than likely has happened to them as a child...It's a cycle like all violence with definite patterns to it that needs to be broken in a harsh way a.s.a.p.......go to a good search engine like google, dogpile, yahoo ect. and do a search on how to homeschool........make sure you look at the manual to for your school dist. practices...in many cases even writing a letter and telling them not to do it to your child doesn't work either....they will still do it and they are being protected by the law of the land....esp under the current carnage of George "Osama and company" Bush......Like torture of detainees at Quantanomo bay Cuba by the United States government and Al Ghirab, this is an eye opener of our times......it's unbelievable, rampant and wide spread.......

Oklahoma backwards and poorly educated



Eva, it might surprise you to know that all over oklahoma accept Okc that paddling is a way of life in the public schools and many of the religiously oriented schools.....I was told even OKC wil permit it if the parent signs a form that says they can......these fomrs are sent home with the child each beginning school year......Oklahoma is like most states in the old south, it's backwards and stuck in time....If it weren't for all the redknecks and dope dealers here, Oh-kay-Home-uh would probably have to fold up and blow away.......And, Okla. and Arkansas may some day get done fightin' the civil war and finally concede to defeat and the lost cause.
Edit (Moderator): Link removed

In the State of Massachusetts any corporal punishment is not allowed in the public schools. So this is not an issue for us as far as public schools are concerned. The problem arose when I looked into private schools and found with shock that one allowed “paddling.” Of course, I would never allow my child to attend such a school. I just thought that this practice was long ago stopped and it never occurred to me that I would even have to ask such a question of a school. Fortunately for me, I did find a very good Christian school that never would permit teachers to administer any sort of corporal punishment. In fact, they have a policy of using positive reinforcement rather than punishment. Their types of punishments are to send notes home to the parents.