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From: barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry)
Newsgroups: net.kids,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Corporal Punishment
Message-ID: <3654@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-Feb-85 10:02:54 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.3654
Posted: Tue Feb 19 10:02:54 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Feb-85 07:08:35 EST
References: <322@cadre.ARPA>
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 28
Xref: watmath net.kids:999 net.philosophy:1469

I have no children (but am planning on one), but I can't see how a parent can
allow someone that is not known to them (i.e. teacher), smacking on kids.  Yes,
I realize that some kids are unruly (I teach a class full of disrespectful,
hyperactive, and generally difficult kids), but many people don't know their
own strength.  I wouldn't want to take the chance that my child was being hit
by one of them.

I know that this is not the case with every parent, but I have seen many try
to shift the responsibility for discipline of their child to teachers.  Even
though my class (karate) is supposed to teach discipline, I often find parents
asking me to take care of their child's reading problem, sibling problems, 
classmate problems, etc.  I even had one ask me to smack their kid for them
because of the child being unruly in the car on the way to class.  I declined
on the grounds that I wanted them to respect me, not fear me.  It's a full
contact class, and the kids have to trust instructors not to kill them. 
But, I deviate...

Violence against children is rarely an answer.  If a child, perhaps needs a
smack on the behind, it should be the parent's responsibility to decide whether
said smack is truly necessary, and to deliver it themselves.  Children should
not fear their teachers, but respect them.  A teacher should be able to command
respect from non physical actions.  In my day, my teachers punished us by
having us put our heads down on the desk, or isolation for a few minutes, etc.
In severe cases, parents should be notified, and it should be the parents who
decide the discipline.  I know that there are some pretty rotten kids out there
as well as some pretty uncaring parents, but smacking kids around isn't the
answer.