Corporal Punishment in East TN Schools

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by 2mares

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I agree to a point. I was never paddled at home or school and I rarely had to discipline my kids, but raising a couple of your own and being responsible for and in control of a room of 30 students is another story.

One of my kids got in trouble once. I got a note on Friday afternoon informing me he would have to go to another school that Monday 20 miles away for 2 weeks for punishment. That there was no lunch or transportation provided. I didn’t even know where this place was. Of course I was at the school Monday morning. Over the weekend I found out what happened (flipping paper clips) and that two neighbors were involved as well and they didn’t receive any punishment. I begged the school to just paddle my kid. But the three boys ended up spending 2 weeks at the “quack shack” doing busy work and causing aggravation on us parents. It was just a vacation to them.

I don't see how paddling is a good alternative to sending the kids to the "quack shack" or whatever that was. Seems like there might be room for something in-between. With all due respect, I would never allow someone to hit my child because I was inconvenienced. Maybe that's not how it went down but it sure seems that way.

I have to say that too many parents are worried about what the other kid "got" and less about their kid behaving, not to mention the personal inconvenience that parents are most concerned about.

Once again, it all comes back to parents making their kids behave and teaching them real world consequences for bad choices and actions. Hitting isn't a solution. It's the equivalent of doing bad behavior for bad behavior. Two wrongs don't make a right.

But this is veering off of the Tennessee forum.

[2mares]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I don't see how paddling is a good alternative to sending the kids to the "quack shack" or whatever that was. Seems like there might be room for something in-between. With all due respect, I would never allow someone to hit my child because I was inconvenienced. Maybe that's not how it went down but it sure seems that way.

I have to say that too many parents are worried about what the other kid "got" and less about their kid behaving, not to mention the personal inconvenience that parents are most concerned about.

Once again, it all comes back to parents making their kids behave and teaching them real world consequences for bad choices and actions. Hitting isn't a solution. It's the equivalent of doing bad behavior for bad behavior. Two wrongs don't make a right.

But this is veering off of the Tennessee forum.

Its not a matter of wanting someone to hit your kid to save you the inconvenience. In my home, if you got in trouble in school, you got in worse trouble at home and carrying out punishment is usually inconvenient.

When I was in HS in TN and for a good while thereafter paddling was the norm. I never had a problem with it, perhaps because that was what I was accustom to growing up.

IMO students arent deterred by getting a vacation from classes. Like in the real world when employees get paid suspension for violations. I don’t see how that is a punishment or teaches responsibility or consequences for ones actions. Letting kids get behind on their actual school work, working parents having to travel and extra 40 miles a day for their child just to sit in another building is a punishment on the parent and not the best option for a minor indiscretion. I think parents should have the choice of paddling or suspension. I think in many schools systems in TN they do.

As far as caring how other children are punished (or not) for the exact same discrepancy, Ive seen way to much favoritism in these rural schools. I think parents should be aware of what is going on in their schools and be involved in making sure teachers and administrator are impartial.

Just my opinions. I don’t have kids in the school system anymore so I really don’t have a horse in this race. I could never be a teacher these days though. My hats off to all those good teachers out there.

[LisaCarol5]

Paddling is an embarrassment for kids. My nephews get whooped and they are too scared to show their face because of it. ISS isn't. In fact in my old high school it's now a playground if you get ISS. Talk, laugh, sleep, cut up and have fun. It's the "cool" thing now from what I am hearing from my school. It wasn't when I went. But... It's not the same anymore.

[JMT]

This thread has gone way beyond being specific to Tennessee. Time to close it.

You may check the Education forum to see if a similar topic is being discussed there:
https://www.city-data.com/forum/education/