To Beat or Not to Beat

To Beat or Not to Beat
This is a very powerful article on what so many are facing today, corporal punishment in the school systems. Again, it has come to the fore front where many schools want to spank children for acting out, saying that they are being forced to because of the childrens actions and not being able to be controlled within the school settings. This is a powerful article as to why this should not be done, and other solutions to the problems that school systems face.
"Children live what they learn. If they grow up being hit and beaten by adults as a means of controlling them and their behaviour, then they learn that force is a means to an end. I am well aware that many parents communicate effectively with their children and many spank in a controlled way with love. But many do it in heightened anger and accompanied by much verbal abuse. Many engage in this repeatedly."
Here is one of the most powerful reasons not to hit a child in a school setting. There are many other reasons, which are explained in this article.
The school my son was attending does do this, and parents must sign a release stating that they would agree to it being done to their child. I would not sign these papers, furthermore, talked to the teacher and told her that under no circumstances was she to threaten my child or other children in my childs' presence with spanking from her. My son has PTSD, as do many child survivors of DV do, and school is supposed to be a safe haven from abuse. Yet, for so many now, it isn't.
When I was going to school, it was finally passed within the Private Schools that the teachers were no longer allowed to rap your knuckles with rulers, or grab you up by the ear. Degrading and demeaning acts such as these should continue to be left out of our school systems. What must a child feel when being spanked not by a parent, but a school official, virtually a stranger? What fears must that child go through? Is the temporary affects worth the mental anguish and fear that child is surely to go through?
If you are against abuse and DV, this is something to look into at your own schools. Tell them it is wrong, show and share them other ways to deal with the issues. Abuse should not be allowed to happen within our school system! We do not want our children to learn that hitting is a means to an end!
tb