Should public schools be allowed to administer a moderate amount of corporal punishment to misbehaving students?

Not unless he is being violent.

Absolutely, the rest are there to learn and shouldn't suffer for the actions of one.

Well I will speak for me and only me I know the type of parent I am and so do my kids as well so for a school to issue corporal punishment on my kids would not be a good idea especially with out my consent because for one thing I would take legal action against them because they did not have my permission to touch my kids and knowing that I care and take care of the discipline at home if something goes wrong does not give the school permission to step into my role at all,just inform me as to what my child did and leave it to me and my wife it is that simple.

To think that there are so many crazy ass teachers out there, one day they can flip and beat on a kid for no apparent reason. We don't need that. Have them call the parents and let them handle the situation.

NO NO NO!
I don't want anyone hitting my children. THEY had better call me instead!!!!

corporal punishment is like eating a potato chip...you can't stop with just some...it easily gets out of hand. Before we know it...it's real abuse...and not just an attitude adjustment.

YES, YES, YES! Applying the "Board of Education" to the
"Seat of Learning" is an excellent idea that needs to be brought back to the schools again!!! The kids have no fear of authority because they know they can't be punished at home or school......Make no mistake, abuse will NOT
be Tolerated, and there IS a BIG difference between a good spanking and
abuse.........Beating or hitting of any type, anywhere but on the bottom is abuse and must be fully prosecuted.
Spanking is a good way to discipline children when they get out of line.
And the stuff they do for discipline now is not working very well, the kids run wild and do what ever they want to with no worry about getting in trouble....
(Thanks ACLU) Another one of their fine works to destroy America!!!

They applied that board to me when I was in school and should have used it more liberally! In the long run I would have benefitted.

there's always that one idiot who goes mad with power

too many crazy psycho teachers out there just waiting to flip the switch and beat a kid. my bottom line: no one can be trusted with corporal punishing authority.

I voted YES, but reality says NO. My wife was a teacher and at one time she was allowed to paddle a child with the parents written permission. Then, like everything els, rules were relaxed and kids could say and do things without fear of punishment. After that it go to the point that if you barely touch the child, they would go home and tell Mom and Dad and bingo, you were in a lawsuit. Teachers had to spend their own money to belong to a group that would help them fight these lawsuits, because the Board of Education, in most instances, didn't help the teacher. Now look at most of the schools in the U.S., they are places that can be scary to go into, because of the students and their lack of control.

Worked for me. That is the biggest problem with the time out generation. That is why most of them are lazy and overweight. I work with soldiers who are 18-19 and you can tell the ones who had no discipline in life and those that did. I am not calling for child abuse just a little reminder every now and then.

My parents had something similar to "time-out". They called it "knock-out", and it was much more effective. When I was in school, virtually any teacher, and most adults, could snatch you up at any time and correct you. I remember being in the store one time, and my mom was busy, so I thought I could get away with something, so I was just taking stuff off the shelves and rearranging them, making a mess really, and this woman grabbed me by the arm and told me to stop it. And I did. My mom looked up right then, and said to the woman, "Thank you", and then gave me the look that told me that I was going to "get it" as soon as I got home, so I better not do anything between now and then to make it any worse. There used to be a standard of behavior that we were expected to display at all times. We were to be polite, even if we didn't feel like it; we were to be respectful to all adults, even if we didn't like them; and we were expected to know what our position was, even if it wasn't fair. Today, kids speak like truck drivers to each other and everyone, they don't acknowledge authority, even when it's obvious authority like a teacher, and they think their position is equal, which it is not.

thats probably why we have so many problems in public schools today the kids know they can get away with any thing!!

that was the 70s you moron

Hell yeah! Just like momma used to do.....

I come from a public school, and I belive some spanking should be in order. Kids are getting way out of hands these days. I'm only 19 and I even see this.

thats insane

More control in the classroom is need. Not just for the students, but the teachers as well.

with a signed permission form at the beginning of the school year --good or one year only

I feel that this is up to the parent, but I also think some kids need their little butts busted, and some parents won't do it when needed. I just can't decide which side to take on this.

I can tell you which side they took when I was growing up: my back side. They should have done it more than they did, too! But I understand your feelings.

Well, my grandfather was in a school that smacked you with rulers. He was native American and would get smacked for speaking in his language. That rubs me wrong. At the same time, sometimes, for some kids, they only thing that would really make a difference in their behavior is to get their butts busted. There is not anyone that can convince me of otherwise. Not all kids will respond well to spanking. But for some, there is a nerve that goes from there butts to their brains, and it makes a HUGE impact in decisions they make. "I had better not be a little jerk, cause I don't want my butt to hurt like last time"….

I went to school with a kid who had standing orders from his parents: "If you get your butt busted at school, you're gettign another one when you get home."

I went to school with him for twelve years and I am fairly certain that their mandate was never put to the test.

LOL see! It does work! Doctor Spock knows nothing. Show kids that there are VERY REAL consequences for making bad decisions. Teaches them to think before they act or say something stupid and unwise.

I think that it takes the power away from the children and puts it back where it belongs........with the administrators.

back in my school we had corporal punishment , and we did the opposite beat the crap out of the administrators , vandalized , and once some kid got paddled so hard they broke his face

If I ever found out someone touched my child, I would be forced to touch them back. No one has that right. I don't, her father doesn't, so NO WAY would I allow anyone at a school to.

If someone punished your child you would be forced to touch them back!!!! What would that be teaching your child? That's it's okay to solve problems by physical intimidation. How can you and her father, as parents, not have the right to touch her in that way? I have three grown children (I'm only 42 so I'm not ancient) and believe you me they were punished. I didn't abuse them by no means but they knew they would get a swat when they misbehaved.

I believe no one has the right to put their hands on my kid. I find out someone did, they would be more than welcome to put their hands on me, THEN it would be an EVEN match. I don't make any apologies for my beliefs. I don't believe in physical punishment. Never have. She is a well adjusted child who is disiplined and faces the consquences when she needs re-direction. She can defend herself, and I would be more worried for the person trying to be physical with her.

You are still talking about a physical altercation so I really don't see much difference in what you are teaching her as opposed to what would happen if she misbehaved at school. I'm not talking about corporal punishment but knowing that an adult can acutally punish a child goes a long way in controlling a class room full of children. I don't agree with being smacked on the head, humiliation, etc but my children knew that if they did not mind while they were in school they could be disciplined. The schools were required to contact the parents before any discipline was completed. I had no problem with that.

Lets agree to disagree. It's not an altercation if a person is defending themself. She is recognized in our community for her leadership in her youth group, she goes to bible study and church every week, is captain of her church volleyball team, volunteers weekly, competes in national native american pow wows, and runs two miles a day. She has the strength of ten because her heart is pure. That a saying I love to refer to. I will always have a problem with anyone putting their hand on her unneccassarily.......

I see both sides of this discussion, however, I am wondering if this isn't more of regional discussion. For example, here in the South children are expected to say yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am and no ma'am. They, are also, expected to behave in school or pay the consequences. Which used to be a paddling. Now, hopefully it is up to the parents to do that. Paddling one's child in not abuse, if done with the understanding that this is what happens when one misbehaves. There are times that not spanking is in order, as well. But children expect to be disciplined and should be disciplined. The fact that Lisa chooses not to discipline with a spanking is fine, however her reaction to anyone that touches her child would be in for a physical bout, goes against what she is trying to say here. In other words, don't touch my child or I will beat the daylights out of you. Weird...

Not wierd, just honest. I am very protective of my child. I mentioned in my comment that if the situation was AN ADULT whom put their hands on my child, I would have a problem with that. I make no excuses for turning into a mama lioness protecting my cub. She is my only one, and I am very careful with her. So far I have never had to make my point physical to anyone.I have verbally reprimanded a giant truck filled with construction workers that almost hit my car on the passengers side where my daughter was sitting. They came within three inches, as they were pulling out of a alley with limited visibility. They apologized profusely, and after my heart rate finally became regular, I calmly explained why they needed better driving skills. All three giants paid close attention.

I'm curious, how many children do you have?

I have a son who is 33, college graduate and a manager with AFLAC in Charlotte, NC. I, also, have a daughter, college graduate in education, taught for two years and is now a stay at home mom. She is 30. My wife taught school for 40 years and has seen it all. Hopefully you aren't the type of parent that believes everything their child tells them about what happened at school on any given day. They are the parents that try to do the lawsuit act without checking the facts. I, also, resent your implication by asking me if I had children to mean that I don't know what I am talking about. Wrong, Lisa, as already mentioned I have been around education and educators longer than you have been on this earth. We have done some things right. I was not in education, but have been working with our youth at the church we go to for over 40 years. When making insuations, please know your facts. I don't put something on here without having some knowledge about the question at hand.

No, they should be allowed to administer massive amounts of corporal punishment.

They certainly pounded on me . . . and today I find myself without flaw.

We need to start somewhere in getting back some respect from our children. Moralsand respect are really lacking today.

But at the same time teachers need to stop informing the kids in kindergarten and 1st grade that their parents are not allowed to spank them. That is where the problems were created as far as I am concerned. All 3 of my girls came home from school in kindergarten and informed us that we could go to jail for spanking them. And if we did they just had to tell their teacher. Our children have been educated since starting school they could not be spanked and we can thank our teacher for that.

I will handle the discipline of my children thank you. I know too many kids whose personalities rub a given teacher the wrong way. The last thing those kids need is some teacher having the ability to 'swat' them.