Time to Ban Physical Punishment of Students in all Schools
Posted By The Editors | May 21st, 2010 | Category: Hot Topics | 8 comments
Print This Post
By Stacey Patton
The recent beating of a 13 year-old boy, captured on a cell phone by a student at the Jamie’s House Charter School in Houston, is yet another horrifying example of why corporal punishment ought to be permanently banned in all schools nationwide.
The cell phone video shows the student, Isaiah Reagins, cowering in a corner obviously surrendering as Sheri Lynn Davis, a 40 year-old physical education teacher, throws a desk and then crouches in front of him like a wrestler looking for an opening to attack. Other students can be heard laughing and clapping as Reagins is then dragged across the floor, repeatedly slapped, punched and kicked. The boy’s mother said her son suffered knots, bruises and a black eye from the attack.
Davis was placed on administrative leave on May 5, after the boy’s mother notified the school about the incident. Witnesses said Davis “snapped” after Reagins made fun of a special needs student. Several students told police officers that four or five teachers watched the incident and threatened them if the video ever went public.
“There is no excuse for a teacher to behave in this way with a child,” Jones told reporters after reviewing the video.
Davis was fired from the school and then issued a public apology during a press conference at her attorney’s office last week and an investigation is pending.
Her attorney, Chip Lewis, said there is more to the story than what was captured in the video. He said Davis was forced to be an educator, bouncer, and an enforcement officer in the classroom.
“There is a fundamental lack of security, of support and staffing for the teachers to provide a safe environment for these kids to learn in. We don’t have an excuse; we have an explanation as to what was going on — months, weeks, days,” Lewis said. “The cumulative effect of these teachers dealing with this is so untenable and contrary to a learning environment. It weighed on her.”
Days before the video of the Houston incident went viral on the Internet, ABC News reported that Gilbert Leal, a tutor in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), is on a mission to “Bring Back Licks” or paddling in public schools.
Corporal punishment in DISD was outlawed five years ago years ago but Leal has been urging voters to back candidates in school board elections who will reinstate corporal punishment in Dallas schools.
“I want to bring back corporal punishment to Dallas,” Leal said, “Kids have no fear anymore. There are no consequences.”
This perverse embrace of violence as a means of disciplining students leads to incidents like the beating of Isaiah Reagins. And the problem appears to be widespread.
In 2008, a joint report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union reported that over 200,000 schoolchildren were spanked or paddled in American schools. According to data from the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, corporal punishment is legal in 21 states and is employed most frequently in Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
The highest percentage of students receiving corporal punishment was in Mississippi, with 7.5 percent of students. Texas had the highest number, with 48,197 students hit at school.
Data from the federal Department of Education and several scholarly longitudinal studies have also demonstrated that black elementary and secondary students endure physical punishment along with school suspensions and expulsions at dramatically disproportionate rates. During the 2006-07 school year, for instance, black students made up 17.1 percent of the nationwide student population but nearly 36 percent of those paddled in schools.
Black girls were paddled at twice the rate of their white counterparts in the 13 states using corporal punishment most frequently. And although boys are punished more often than girls, the report found that African-American students in general are 1.4 times more likely to receive corporal punishment.
These statistics paint this portrait even as society increasingly recognizes that physical discipline of children leads to children themselves becoming self abusive, cognitively stunted, and abusive of others.
Part of the problem is that reports like these reveal that many parents give consent to allow teachers or other school officials to physically discipline their children. But herein lies a very serious legal violation of children’s constitutional rights, specifically their Eighth Amendment right to be free from “cruel and unusual punishment.”
How can parents be allowed to waive a child’s constitutional right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment?
Because we live in a society where corporal punishment of children has been a long-standing feature, it appears to be legally and politically justified to deny children the right to be free from assault at the hands of teachers and relatives. While there has been some outrage over the actions of Sheri Lynn Davis, some have touted her as a hero and as a victim of an unruly generation of youth that no longer responds to non-violent disciplinary tactics.
The notion that adults need to use physical violence against their own children or other people’s children to make them follow the right path is one of those undying untruths. It’s not the fear of violence that makes children follow the right path, but respect for their parents’ values as well as trust in their parents and adult supervisors.
Stacey Patton is the Senior Editor of The Defenders Online and a writer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She is also author of a memoir, That Mean Old Yesterday, which discusses child abuse.
Washington Post: Defense lawyer fights racism in death row cases
Obama on Google Plus – Ahead of the Curve Again?
Newt’s Poor Record on Civil Rights
JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education
Embattled Connecticut Police Chief Resigns; Department Faces Prospect of More Officers’ Arrests
The State of the Union: The “Back Story” for Black America
Obama College-Aid Proposals Underscore Importance of Pell Grants
N.Y.P.D. Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation
F.B.I. Arrests Four Connecticut Police Officers In Racial Harassment of Latino Residents
Right “NOW” a teacher in Texas has “NO RIGHTS” to beat any child the way they want to.
Even if corp/ punishment was Legal she was out of her bounds by kicking him and beating his head up against the Wall.
I am asking this question recently…She is Black (TIRE SLASHER DAVIS/AKA CHILD ABUSER DAVIS’) Isaiah is Bi Racial,,was he THE ONLY BI RACIAL CHILD IN THAT ROOM?
IF anyone knows ,Please let me know.
Thank you,
Isaiah’s Grandmother,
Sherry
What will it take to ban Corporal Punishment (use of belts, paddles, and other objects) in homes and schools here in the USA? The law does not protect children until it is too late when a child has been injured then the law steps in. Twenty-one states in our country allow some form of corporal punishment in schools. Also, all 50 of the United States allow the practice of corporal punishment of minors within the home. Corporal punishment has been officially outlawed in 25 countries around the world. This brutality towards children is best quoted by the Supreme Court of Israel that declared all corporal punishment unlawful in 2000 – “The child is not the parent’s property and cannot be used as a punching bag the parents can beat at their leisure, even when the parents honestly believe that they are fulfilling their duty and right to educate their child. The child depends upon the parents, is entitled to parental love, protection and the parent’s gentle touch. The use of punishment which causes hurt and humiliation does not contribute to the child’s personality or education, but instead damages his or her human rights. Such punishment injures his or her body, feelings, dignity and proper development. Such punishment distances us from our goal of a society free of violence. Accordingly, let it be known that in our society, parents are now forbidden to make use of corporal punishments or methods that demean and humiliate the child as an educational system.” Again, what will it take to stop corporal punishment against our children? If we can legally stop corporal punishment at home then it will definitely be banned in schools. I have written President Obama and even emailed Oprah about my concerns in hopes that someone who has power and idolized can help our children!
The reason Physical/Corporal Punishment in Schools is “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” is that adults have constitutional legal protections against assault and rights to equal protection under law, in stark constrast our nation’s children are not receiving equal protection under law when 30 states have laws Prohibiting Physical/Corporal Punishment of Children in Schools, therefore making the developmentally detrimental practice of educators hitting schoolchildren with Wooden Paddles to deliberately inflict physical pain and suffering intended to punish them (borne out by research) by tax-payer funded government authorities in a position of trust, entrusted with the care and education of our nation’s children, both cruel and unusual.
My husband and I are unable to protect our 3 children, whom we do not hit from, from witnessing/overhearing classmates being threatened/Hit with Wooden Paddles by teachers just outside class for minor infractions such as not turning in homework or horsing around, then the battered student is further humiliated when they immediately return to their seat and must face classmates with a red and tear-stained face. Tennessee State Law does NOT require Parental Consent or Notification for children to be physically punished at school. We are outraged that our children’s learning environments include fear, anxiety, dread and humiliation. Our nation’s government are hypocrites because our leaders tell other nations that governing through fear and violence is Never acceptable, yet that is exactly how many schools, mostly in the south, maintain order of children in schools. Our nation helped to draft the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet only the U.S. and Somalia have Failed to Ratify it! Physical/Corporal Punishment is not a “right”!
Federal and State of Tennessee Government Officials informed us that the very important matter of our children’s Health and Safety in School is a “Local Issue” to be decided by local autonomous school district governing board members. My husband and I made a written/verbal presentation to our local school district governing board members in April 2008, during “National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month” to Demand they Prohibit Physical/Corporal Punishment of Children in our schools, and to date, 5/2010, we have received No Response, no letter, no phone call, they have IGNORED US!
Research also bears out that physical/corporal punishment contributes to costly social ills including increased school drop-out rates, violence/aggression, crime, incarceration, addiction, unemployment and mental illness. The cost to Abolish Physical/Corporal Punishment is $0. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York will soon introduce Legislation to Ban Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools and needs concerned citizens to CALL their U.S. Congress Representative to Demand their support of the Legislation to Ban Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools.
What’s done to children, they will do to society. ~Karl Menninger
My question is this: What about the rights of the kids who come to school to learn and want to get an education, NOT a trip to the zoo? What the teacher did was horrible and she was justifiably fired. But, I have to assume that teachers don’t come to school for the enjoyment of beating kids. All this article says is that the 13 year old “taunted a special needs child”. So what IS the right way to maintain order in the classroom? If the 13 year old WAS being disruptive, what would you advise this teacher to do so that she can do her job and her kids can learn?
@Stan, maybe if she had been “certified” then she would have been equipped with the right tools to handle a kid who was being disruptive. Teachers are supposed to be properly trained and schools are supposed to be safe places.
When my son was in the first grade, Alex Haley’s Roots premiered on television as a mini-series. I allowed my children to watch it only because as a young parent, i couldn’t see anything wrong with it at the time, and many of our family and friends were making a family night of it. On the second night of the Roots mini-series, my son was unusually quiet and sad looking. I thought he was responding to the movie, but after about an hour of us viewing the movie his facial expression hadn’t changed.
I finally asked my son what was wrong with him. He told me that his principal had paddled him. I became angry immediately but wanted to know why he had gotten a spanking. He told me the story of another boy in his class who happened to be his friend. The little boy had been sent to the office to be paddled by the principal. He said the boy came back to the class laughing and told all the students that it didn’t hurt. The teacher sent for the principal who gave the child another paddling in front of the class. Later that same day, my son was caught laughing in class and his teacher sent him to the office. This was his first time having to go to the principal’s office and he said he was scared and wanted to cry. The principal asked him his name and he said he was trying not to cry so tried to say his name while holding his breath. But the principal could barely hear him and gave him a swat with the paddle. The principal asked his name again, and he still didn’t want to cry so he said his name again in the same way. Again the principal swatted him with the paddle. He finally broke and told the principal his name but he said the principal made him cry and all the students knew he cried. He was hurt and embarrassed by what the principal did.
I sent the children to bed and my “Roots” night was totally over. I looked the principal’s number up and all i could think of after my son told me the story was the previous night’s episode where Kunte Kinte was being beaten because he was holding on to his African name and after each lash would repeatedly give his name as “Kunte Kinte”. In my mind, i saw the principal trying to emulate the flogger from Roots. I was angry. I looked the principal’s number up and called him. By now, it is close to 9:00 pm. I told him who i was and calmly asked him to tell me what had happened earlier that day that caused him to put his hands on my child. He told a similar story to my son’s but he said that when he asked his name, he didn’t answer and that he gave him a lick for each time he didn’t answer. I informed him of the version my son had told me and stressed to him that he had charge of a frightened first grader and he used the paddle as a weapon against him. Then I asked if he was watching the “Roots” mini-series. He told me that he was. At that point i let him have it. I told him that he and i both understood that what he did was a racist action and that i was reporting him to the Administration. I told him that he had no right to ever hit any of my children who came through his school and that I didn’t believe in corporal punishment. He apologized and I followed through on reporting him. After that episode, I somehow became his favorite “Black” parent because i “cared” about my children. That was insulting. But he would call me each time he had an issue with my children after that and ask how i wanted him to handle situations such as -leaving permission slips at home, not having supplies, forgetting their lunches. I absolutely could not believe that children got paddled for not having supplies until I got the call from him stating that since you don’t want your son paddled for not having his supplies, what do you want us to do. I told him to hold on – that i would be there in 20 min. I immediately left work and on my way to the school, stopped by the store and picked up crayons, tablets, pencils, construction paper. When i got to the school, I asked to see my son’s teacher and the principal together. I was upset. We met in the hall in front of his office- go figure. But i didn’t care, I was not going to let them destroy my son’s love of school. (The teacher was in her early 60′s and the principal was around 50.) Although i was upset, i needed them to know how serious i was about my children’s education and to emphatically state one more time that i was totally against corporal punishment.
Before i gave them the supplies, i had a little speech to give to them. My words were measured due to the fact that i was almost seething and i pointedly stated very slowly and in a low tone that I realized that when they graduated from college as teachers, they probably had no intentions of ever teaching Black children, but that since they had no choice, i hoped that they would try to return the respect to the parents and to the children that they were given. I informed them that when i was in school, no child went without learning for want of a pen or paper and then presented them with the package that was for any child that ran out of supplies and told both of them that paddling was a cruel response to poverty. I went right back to my office and again documented not only the conversation but my thoughts about why we couldnt meet in the principal’s office. Of course I had a few more problems through the years with them, but paddling of Black children decreased. Parents from our community participated in PTA, Homeroom events, field trips etc. We were proactive and didn’t think twice about calling the Superintendent.
Here it is when thirty-four years later when corporal punishment should be a non-issue. This problem has to be solved through a national coalition. It is not enough to resolve on case by case or state by state level. Our children don’t deserve to have pain inflicted on them by adults. Simply put, we are condoning physical abuse of our children.
This very day, June 29th 2010, US Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of the 4th District of New York is holding a press conference to announce her introduction of a bill to ban corporal punishment in schools across the country. Since there are still 20 states that do not prohibit it at the state level and leave it to the local districts to do as they see fit, it is long past time to have a federal law protecting all school children from this abuse. The bill is cosponsored by Congressman Bobby Scott (VA- 03) and supported by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and other organizations devoted to the ending of this practice. Call your US Representative today and ask that they cosponsor and/or support this effort. It should not have to be accomplished by a state by state and community by community process. It has taken far too long using this method. Our children are waiting.