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Passing the paddle: Some Missouri school districts cling to corporal punishment • Missouri Independent [1]
['Sofi Zeman', 'More From Author', '- April']
Date: 2023-04-03
Early on in his administrative career, longtime Missouri educator Chris Belcher had what he called the worst experience of his life.
“The kid screamed, and I felt awful,” he said.
He didn’t want to do it, but he had to.
It was the 1980s, and Belcher was told to paddle a student who was enrolled in the school district’s special education program. The administrator who typically oversaw discipline for that particular student was out that day, leaving Belcher to handle the punishment.
As upsetting as the situation was to both the student and Belcher, it also reaffirmed his strong belief in cognitive and nonpunitive strategies.
School corporal punishment, which gained traction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a physical disciplinary method to correct student misbehavior. In most instances where the practice is used, students are paddled by a district superintendent or school principal.
Missouri’s Cassville R-IV School District made headlines last August when it chose to reinstate its corporal punishment policy. That move — which ignited a national conversation on swatting’s place in schools — came shortly after a state law regarding student discipline took effect. The statute, RSMo 160.261, required districts to get written parent permission to administer swats before doing so. Districts that implement corporal punishment are expected to send out permission forms at the start of the school year.
Amid the media frenzy surrounding Cassville’s decision came public debate on the practice. Although some argue corporal punishment traumatizes students and damages childhood development, others call the tactic time-tested and effective. Apparently caught in the middle are districts with policies that allow corporal punishment but instead opt for conversation-based strategies.
So at a time when alternative behavior management practices have become mainstream, why do some Missouri districts hold on to corporal punishment?
Carla London, chief equity officer of Columbia Public Schools, identified a core reason:
“People go to — good or bad — they go back to what they know, what was used on them.”
Columbia Public Schools does not use corporal punishment, but London has about 30 years of experience in monitoring childhood development. She spent most of her career in education but also worked at Texas Child Protective Services and was a medical social worker at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. She has a background in psychology.
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[1] Url:
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/04/03/passing-the-paddle-some-missouri-school-districts-cling-to-corporal-punishment/
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