Here are some words of warning for parents who have children in schools that use violent punishment, also known as rowing. They must anticipate insincerity on the part of educators and administrators who do not normally invite dialogue with the public on this topic. When embroiled in discussions of “discipline,” school officials tend to bring up those common, well-rehearsed, familiar responses, the purpose of which is to entertain critics and calm parents.

MYTH: Corporal punishment is used only after all other means have failed and is governed by strict guidelines.

FACT – The number of students beaten will always be greatly underestimated because school administrators are smart enough to AVOID saying things that might alarm the public or draw attention. Also, what does ‘strict guidelines’ mean? Most of the time, violent punishments are used as a first response for trivial offenses. Guidelines, when they exist, exist more on paper than in practice. As a general rule, reliance on fear, force, and violence in educational settings is inversely proportional to the level of competence of the educators involved. The least competent tend to be the most violent. They are also the most resistant to reform and the most rejecting of other methods of correcting unacceptable behavior.

MYTH – Teachers’ right to resort to corporal punishment should be upheld because certain students cannot be controlled by any other means.

FACT – Violent punishment causes far more misbehavior than it corrects, if it corrects at all. The more some children are subject to the violence of the educator, the more they misbehave. The very act of physical punishment destroys trust and breeds hostility towards the institution that is supposed to be serving them. As for children who outwardly conform for fear of punishment, they receive an education mainly in one thematic area: the abuse of power. Some of them will put that lesson into practice at the earliest opportunity.

MYTH – Children who behave well have nothing to worry about.

FACT – Wherever hitting students is allowed, all children worry about it. They know that punishers often act impulsively and are rarely, if ever, asked to justify their actions before or after the fact. A constant diet of fear and anxiety impedes learning and is also dangerous for children’s health.

MYTH: This method of student management has been used for many years and has overwhelming support from parents and the public.

FACT: It is true that violent handling of pupils has been used throughout recorded history. But today, only the most culturally backward places continue to use it. In most of the democratic world, violent punishment of schoolchildren is illegal and nowhere is it making a comeback. The dwindling number of parents who approve of these methods are themselves products of that system. Naturally, they feel reassured when they see teachers at school modeling the same bad behavior that they use with their own children at home. Both violent parents and violent teachers are fooling themselves when they claim that their methods are universally approved.

MYTH — It works.

FACT — If it worked, why do punishers have to keep punishing? And why are our maximum security prisons filled with violent criminals who were raised and educated with these same methods? Parents tend to trust educators who, after all, are highly trained in their field and licensed by the state. And virtually all parents want to believe that those who take care of their child at school are motivated by genuine and loving feelings for the child. Educators recognize and indulge this powerful natural desire. Deliberate vagueness about details meets the needs of both parties: the practical needs of educators and the emotional needs of parents. However, responsible and thoughtful parents should keep in mind that they are delegating their most important responsibility to complete strangers: strangers who have their own agendas, who vary widely in their level of competence, who operate with minimal supervision and almost no control. absolute. impunity. Few people would hand over their car keys under the same circumstances, with the same degree of confidence. Readers who visit the state education websites listed below and search for the word “paddle” or the phrase “corporal punishment” will come up empty-handed. One would never imagine that in these school systems children are struck in the pelvic area with wooden weapons between 1/3 and 1/2 million times a year according to the most conservative estimates. Some researchers estimate the number of legal student beatings in the 22 school beating states to be around 1 million per year. No wonder no one is talking!

States that allow corporal punishment:

ALABAMA
Office of the Superintendent of Education
Alabama Department of Education
Gordon People Office Building
50 North Ripley Street
PO Box 302102
Montgomery, AL 36130-2101
Phone: (334) 242-9702 FAX: (334) 242-9708

ARIZONA
director’s office
Arizona Department of Education
state capitol
1700 western Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Telephone: (602) 542-5460 FAX(602) 542-5440

ARKANSAS
director’s office
Arkansas Department of Education
Four State Capitol Mall, Room 304 A
Little Rock, AR 72201-1071
Telephone: (501) 682-4204 FAX: (501) 682 1079

COLORADO
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Colorado Department of Education
201 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80203-1799
Telephone: (303) 866-6808 FAX: (303) 866-6938

FLORIDA
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Florida Department of Education
Capitol Building, Room PL 08
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (904) 487-1785 FAX: (904) 488-1492

GEORGIA
Office of the State Superintendent of Schools
East Twin Towers
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-5001
Phone: (404) 657-0516

IDAHO
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Idaho Department of Education
Len B. Jordan Office Building
650 West State Street
post office box 83720
Boise, ID 83720
Telephone: (208) 334-3300 FAX: (208) 334-2228

INDIANA
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education
Government House, Room 229
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798
Telephone: (317) 232-6665 FAX: (317) 232-8004

KANSAS
Office of the Commissioner of Education
120 Tenth Avenue Southeast
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1182
Telephone: (913) 296-3202 FAX: (913) 296-7933

KENTUCKY
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Kentucky Department of Education
Capitol Plaza Tower – Mero 500 Street
Frankfurt, KY 40601
Telephone: (502) 564-3141 FAX: (502) 564-5680

LOUISIANA
Office of the Superintendent of Education
Louisiana Department of Education
626 North 4th Street, 12th Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064
Phone: (504) 342-3602 FAX: (504) 342-7316

MISSISSIPPI
Office of the Superintendent of Education
State Department of Education
550 Main Street, Room 501
Jackson, MS 39201
Telephone: (601) 359-3512 FAX: (601) 359-3242

MISSOURI
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Missouri Elementary Department
& Secondary Education
205 Jefferson Street, 6th Floor
City of Jefferson, MO 65102
Telephone: (572) 751-4446 FAX: (573) 751-1179

NEW MEXICO
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
New Mexico Department of Education
educational building
300 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-2786
Telephone: (505) 827-6688 FAX: (505) 827-6520

NORTH CAROLINA
Office of the State Superintendent of Public Education
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
educational building
301 North Wilmington Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825
Telephone: (919) 715-1277 FAX: (919) 715-1278

OHIO
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Ohio Department of Education
65 South Front Street, Room 810
Columbus, OH 43215-4183
Phone: (614) 466-3304 FAX: (614) 644-5960

OKLAHOMA
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Hodge Educational Building
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599
Telephone: (405) 521-4887 FAX: (405) 421-6205

PENNSYLVANIA (Some school districts prohibit corporal punishment)
Education secretary
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street. 10th floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Phone: (717) 787-5820 FAX (717) 787-7222

SOUTH CAROLINA
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
South Carolina Department of Education
1006 Rutledge Building
1429 Senate Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
Telephone: (803) 734-8492 FAX: (803) 734-4426

TENNESSEE
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Tennessee Department of Education
Sixth Floor, Gateway Plaza
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0375
Telephone: (615) 741-2731 FAX: (615) 741-6236

TEXAS
Office of the Commissioner of Education
Texas Education Agency Office
William B. Travis Building
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: (512) 463-5825 FAX: (512) 463-9008

WYOMING
Office of the State Department of Public Instruction
Wyoming Department of Education
2300 Capitol Avenue, Second Floor
hathaway building
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050
Telephone: (307) 777-7675 FAX: (307) 777-6234

Information courtesy of Jordan Riak http://www.nospank.net