Monday, February 24, 2014

Spanking by Teachers, Caregivers, and Parents

The topic on the talk show circuit last week (Feb. 17 -21, 2014) was about a Kansas lawmaker proposing a bill that would allow teachers, caregivers, and parents to spank children hard enough to leave marks (Huffington Post).  It's horrifying to know that 19 states still allow to this day for teachers to conduct corporal punishment (ABC News).

I still remember the letters that went out to the parents when I was in elementary school regarding the administration of corporal punishment.

I remember the paddles with the holes to increase the speed from the wind-up to the intended body target and the wooden rulers and yardsticks used. I can still see where those tools sat by the teachers' desks.

I remember witnessing fellow classmates receiving corporal punishment.  I still remember one of the boy's name who received corporal punishment from the paddle with holes....all the time.  I can still see his face full of humiliation and intense pain.  I can still hear the sound of the paddle hitting his behind and the way his body jumped at impact.

But most of all, I remember second grade and how that had to have been the worst school year of my life.

Growing up in the 70s in a predominantly white school district already had its challenges and experiences for a young Black girl.  I do remember how we celebrated when new Black TV shows came on and how we felt when we saw Black people in leadership roles. I remember how we were excited to see Black teachers.

But there was one Black teacher (one of the two in the school and they were oftentimes together) whom I found it very hard to celebrate and that was my second grade teacher.  Retrospectively, I don't believe she celebrated my presence either.

For whatever offense that my little second grade self did, I was taken to the principal's office or to a neighboring classroom to turn my back toward either the teacher, the principal secretary, or the principal himself and have my dress lifted up and swatted multiple times with a ruler.  I remember turning back looking up in their faces with tears streaming down.  Sometimes, they'd have me stay in the office until I regained composure.  I remember the office secretary who would give me tissue and sit with me with sympathetic eyes - whom I visited well until after I graduated from high school until she retired.

At the time, I thought the witnesses were part of the conspiracy to beat me to what seemed every day.  But, now I believe the witnesses' faces were not of support, but faces of concerned grown people expected to carry out a lawful task by a repeated offender.

Sadly, discipline instruction by spanking was supported at home during my childhood so there the bond was between home and school.

I wasn't a bad kid in school and I received 90% to 100% marks on my work.   I was always in the top reading groups and the spelling champion of my classroom. I was an intelligent and very energetic second grader doing second grade things typical of a 6 or 7 year old who preferred to daydream, laugh, and play.

A child is going to wind up being as they were going to be.  Spanking does nothing but cause bodily injury and a broken, angry, and/or bitter spirit in a young human being.  Spanking does not and never will teach correct behavior.   

Legalizing spanking is legalizing child abuse - especially to the point where marks can be left on the body and for people in authority who wish to target one or two children for frustration relief.