Teaching and Corporal Punishment
It never fails to amaze or entertain me the conversations that I have with people after they learn that I teach kids for a living. I am continually getting sympathy from people of my parents’ generation because educators are no longer allowed to beat children when they misbehave. Just the other day when I was enjoying a cold beverage with my dad and his friends’ they all regaled me with tales from their misbegotten youth. “I remember one time I got beat for mouthing off to my teacher. And do you know what happened when I got home? I got it even worse from my parents. No wonder kids these days don’t listen. They know you can’t touch’em anymore.” This is then followed by a tirade about the downfall of society caused by a lack of corporal punishment. Seriously, this is what I hear over and over again many times when I am having a casual conversation about school. I wonder if they really think that educators sit around bemoaning the fact that they can not beat children that get out of line. Perhaps they imagine that school staff rooms are full of teachers sighing over their unused whips and straps.
I can honestly say that I have never once heard a teacher say that they wish they could hit their students to keep them in line. I have never personally felt that way, and I am not just saying that so people will come to my blog, read this and then tell me how great I am. My ego is big enough as it is! I suppose I am just puzzled by this sort of thinking. One time, in a fit of temper and after getting some bad advice from an influential but unnamed individual in my life, I slapped my child. I felt so guilty and terrible that I never, ever did it again.
What on earth does it teach your children when you have to hit them to make them behave? They learn that asserting authority just for the hell of it over someone less powerful than you is honorable. They learn that they only need to do the right thing when there is the threat of punishment hanging over their heads. They learn that violence is the best way to solve their problems. But do they learn to value education when they are forced to go through the motions of learning? Just because the kids are sitting still and doing a good impression of looking interested in what the teacher is talking about, doesn’t mean the students are learning anything. Except how to conform. It’s much more difficult to teach kids to value learning for its’ own sake. Or to teach kids to do the right thing even when nobody is around to see it or punish you for doing the wrong thing. Beating them is pretty much taking the easy way out.
I’m so glad that I don’t have the option of hitting kids because living in the time when it was socially acceptable to beat children would have made me go looney tunes, I am quite sure. Thinking for yourself sure can be rough at times.
Which reminds me. I was thinking of doing some book reviews. Since I love complaining about things that I love and hate so much, it should be right up my alley. Right now I am re-reading the Little House on the Prairie series with my children. It’s pretty good stuff, as corporal punishment of children in school was very common back then. It really demonstrates how far we have come as a society that that is not considered socially acceptable anymore. Anyway, I have no idea when I will have some time to throw a book review together so I won’t make any promises. But I sure do have a lot to say about Little House on the Prairie so I am quite sure that I will get to it soon. I will have to whip out my Blackberry and put it on my to-do list.
