In some states in the US that is still allowed, how do americans generally feel about that? Does supporting or opposing it go down go party lines?

28 comments

  1. I don’t think anyone should touch my kid, especially anyone over the age of 18 and in a position of power.

  2. I’m not aware of any place in the country it still happens, even in places it’s allowed. Except maybe Catholic schools, but that might just be a stereotype.

  3. I’m against it. I’m against it in my own home, I certainly wouldn’t trust others.

  7. Very strongly against it, and if a teacher were to hit my kid they would have a problem.

    It is technically still allowed by state law in some states. Even in the states where it is legal, it is usually against school policy. Even in schools where it isn’t against policy, it’s extremely rare and a teacher would likely lose their job for hitting a child.

  9. I don’t have a problem with spanking in general, but paddling isn’t spanking and the government shouldn’t be involved in that kind of discipline, anyway.

    I don’t trust school to teach kids properly, nevermind punish or discipline properly.

  10. Very strongly against it. It’s harmful and doesn’t teach kids the right lessons.

  12. I’m surprised it’s allowed at home still. Study after study for the last 60 years has shown it causes behavioral issues, and has no upside. The fact this is gaining traction in public schools is astounding to me.

  13. I’m against it. I experienced it as a kid and don’t think it helps much.

    Corporal punishment isn’t effective in any context, IMO, and delegating the job to strangers is asinine.

    I wouldn’t be cool with a stranger smacking my kid.

  14. Strongly against.

    I’ve got no problem with minor spanking (single slap, if there’s a bruise at all or redness that’s not gone in 10 minutes you’ve gone too far), but I think that even that is unnecessary. But if the parent chooses to use that form of discipline, it should only be the parent or someone very close to them who they’ve given explicit permission who are allowed to do so.

    A school using a paddle? That’s several steps too far in terms of force and in terms of how much I’d trust. First, I already said I’m not OK with a paddle. Second, a school is an institution, not an individual, and as such should absolutely not recieve blanket permission for physical punishment. And even if a particular parent trusts an individual teacher, it’s very unfair if different kids will recieve different punishments based on which permission slips a parent signed.

  15. I’m against it, because I think if you’re a parent that supports it in your own home, its lazy of you to then shrug off that responsibility to someone else. If you believe spanking your kid for discipline is proper, then thats on you.

    Don’t hand off your responsibilities as a parent to the state.

  16. I don’t know anyone who supports that. I’m sure somewhere someone has institutional faith which would justify that for them, but no one I know.

    Teaching conformity purely by threat of violence is a recipe for creating revolutionaries and always has been.

  17. Very against it. I was raised without corporal punishment and I like to think I turned out all right. It appalls me that people think they have to assault children to discipline them.

  18. It’s unthinkable to me. I would never strike my kids. If someone else tried to, I’d be seeing red.

    I don’t know anyone IRL who supports this.

  21. Completely against it. I think there are rare circumstances where corporal punishment might be appropriate, but that certainly shouldn’t be up to a school official to decide.

  23. I think it should be banned from schools in all states, including in all private schools. Remarkably, only a few actually ban it in private schools to this day.

    Beyond that, it’s something the state I’m from (NJ) was far ahead of the curve on – banned with no exceptions since 1867.

  24. I hate it with an absolute passion.

    I quite literally have PTSD from my 1st grade teacher’s excessive use of corporal punishment.

    My parents didn’t believe in corporal punishment, my Kindergarten teacher didn’t use it.

    My first grade teacher did. Constantly, for virtually every offense.

    Desk too messy? Three licks with a paddle, HARD

    Talk out of turn? Same

    Talk without raising your hand? Again, out in the hall.

    Run in the halls? Another three licks with the paddle.

    Handwriting too messy to be read? More violence as punishment.

    Take food out of the cafeteria? Same

    Break some bizarre rule of etiquette I was never taught but she treated as sacrosanct? More of the same.

    When our state banned corporal punishment, she literally retired immediately. . .she had no idea how to manage a classroom without heavy use of pain and suffering to compel obedience.

    It took me decades to get over the trauma of spending a year with her, and I still find it very hard to forgive her for the physical abuse, under color of state authority, she inflicted on me.

    I have an intense hatred of using physical violence as a disciplinary method for children, I firmly believe it’s child abuse, and the idea of teachers in public schools using state-sponsored physical violence to punish children for mild infractions enrages me.

    I think any teacher who even WANTS to use it should have their license permanently revoked.

  25. The problem with punishment of any kind is when it’s applied capriciously; that is, when a child gets punished because the parent is annoyed, rather than trying to teach a lesson.

    Now, throw in “corporal punishment” when a parent is annoyed? That looks like child abuse to me.

  27. In my state it’s technically legal under state law, but banned by every single school district in the state. I think anybody who tried to unban it would have a riot on their hands, and rightfully so.

    I frankly also never had any teacher or administrator whom it would even have occurred to as being even within the realm of possibility as a disciplinary method.

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