Imagine you are sitting in a large lecture hall. You are goofing off, disturbing the class. You don’t think that the professor is paying attention to you until you are unexpectedly whacked with a paddle. You are humiliated in front of hundreds of your peers.
This is the reality that students face in Temple, Texas. Last May, the small town lifted a ban on the old-school tradition of paddling, at the request of parents from the school district. In an age where students have become disruptive, argumentative and disrespectful toward their authoritarians, some parents saw this revival as a good move on Temple’s part.
Now, nearly a year later, this revival has started to make headlines as protesters speak out against physical punishment in the school system. Despite the criticism recently directed at Temple, the parents claim that lifting the ban has improved the behavior of students.
Proponents of school spankings insist that physically disciplining the students will instill a sense of fear, thus forcing students to behave properly. Historically speaking, this statement is correct to a certain extent. Power and threats of physical disciplining have been effective in controlling the masses.
By the same token, however, these threats have also created rebellion and chaotic revolution. While some students may react positively to spankings, some may rebel even more. Instead of transforming into model students, some children may misbehave even more, perhaps for revenge. This could create an even more disruptive and unruly school environment, one that could easily by eliminating school paddling altogether.
In my opinion, the administration of spankings and physical disciplines should be at the discretion of the parent, not the teacher or principal. Growing up, I was raised by old-school parents. Belts and spankings were not unheard of, particularly in the African-American community. When a child acted out, it was either the parent or a close family friend who disciplined the child, not a teacher.
In the case of Temple, these parents should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of owning up to their responsibilities by disciplining their own children, these parents displayed their laziness by dumping their parental responsibilities onto the laps of teachers. Teachers are there to educate students, not raise children who are not their own.
