This Brief reviews the past, present, and future use of school corporal punishment in the United States, a practice that remains legal in 19 states as it is constitutionally permitted according to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result of school corporal punishment, nearly 200,000 children are paddled in schools each year. Most Americans are unaware of this fact or the physical injuries sustained by countless school children who are hit with objects by school personnel in the name of discipline. Therefore, Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools begins by summarizing the legal basis for school corporal punishment and trends in Americans’ attitudes about it. It then presents trends in the use of school corporal punishment in the United States over time to establish its past and current prevalence. It then discusses what is known about the effects of school corporal punishment on children, though with so little research on this topic, much of the relevant literature is focused on parents’ use of corporal punishment with their children. It also provides results from a policy analysis that examines the effect of state-level school corporal punishment bans on trends in juvenile crime. It concludes by discussing potential legal, policy, and advocacy avenues for abolition of school corporal punishment at the state and federal levels as well as summarizing how school corporal punishment is being used and what its potential implications are for thousands of individual students and for the society at large. As school corporal punishment becomes more and more regulated at the state level, Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools serves an essential guide for policymakers and advocates across the country as well as for researchers, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students.

"Bend over and take your whacks," is heard each day by over l,000 school children in the United States. Almost half of US states permit educators to hit children with contoured boards called "paddles" for breaking school rules. Sometimes children are hit without parent permission and sometimes against parents' wishes. Paddling can lead to injuries requiring medical treatment including bleeding, bruises and even broken bones. Over l00 countries have banned school corporal punishment. In Breaking the Paddle: Ending School Corporal Punishment, Nadine Block sheds light on this dark side of American education and refutes arguments used to support its use. Block tells parents how to protect their children from this archaic discipline and gives specific recommendations for how to end it for all US school children. This important book should be read by parents, educators, physicians, mental health professionals, child abuse prevention professionals, school board members, legislators, and all persons who promote the optimum development of children and seek to protect their right to be free from physical harm.

The aim of this book is to assess the moral permissibility of corporal punishment and to enquire into whether or not it ought to be legally prohibited. Against the widespread view that corporal punishment is morally legitimate and should be legally permitted provided it falls short of abuse, Patrick Lenta argues that all corporal punishment, even parental spanking, is morally impermissible and ought to be legally proscribed. The advantages claimed for corporal punishment over alternative disciplinary techniques, he contends, are slight or speculative and are far outweighed by its disadvantages. He presents, in addition, a rights-based case against corporal punishment, arguing that children possess certain fundamental rights that all corporal punishment of them violates, namely the right to security of the person and the right not to be subjected to degrading punishment. Lenta’s approach is unique in that it engages with empirical literature in the social sciences in order to fully examine the emotional and psychological effects of corporal punishment on children. Corporal Punishment: A Philosophical Assessment is a philosophically rigorous and engaging treatment of a hitherto neglected topic in applied ethics and social philosophy.

divDespite being commonplace in American households a generation ago, corporal punishment of children has been subjected to criticism and shifting attitudes in recent years. Many school districts have banned it, and many child advocates recommend that parents no longer spank or strike their children. In this book, social theorist Michael Donnelly and family violence expert Murray A. Straus tap the expertise of social science scholars and researchers who address issues of corporal punishment, a subject that is now characterized as a key issue in child welfare. The contributors discuss corporal punishment, its use, causes, and consequences, drawing on a wide array of comparative, psychological, and sociological theories. Together, they clarify the analytical issues and lay a strong foundation for future research and interdisciplinary collaboration. /DIV

By using positive methods of discipline parents have the opportunity to provide their children with an optimal home environment for healthy emotional growth and development.

Recommendations -- Methodology -- Corporal punishment in US public schools -- Corporal punishment by the numbers -- Behaviors leading to beatings -- Impact of corporal punishment -- Parents' inability to protect children -- Best practices : effective discipline for students with disabilities -- International Human Rights Law protecting students with disabilities -- Conclusion.

School corporal punishment is currently legal in 19 states, and over 160,000 children in these states are subject to corporal punishment in schools each year. (Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy by Elizabeth T. Gershoff and Sarah A. Font)Our survey was begun in 2009 and continues through today. It is not a scientific survey, but is intended to give people an opportunity to respond to questions about their experiences. These are the questions that were asked in the survey:1.How old are you now?2.Are you male or female?3.What country did you grow up in?4.If you grew up in the United States, what states did you live in when you were going to school?5.Did you wear a uniform to school?6.Did you go to a public or private school?7.What grades were you spanked at school and what were you spanked with?8.Who spanked you at school?9.What was the gender of the person that spanked you?10.How were you positioned for the spanking?11.How soon after the offense were you spanked?12.Where were you spanked?13.How many swats were you given? If you received more than one spanking at school, please tell how many swats you received each time and what you were spanked with.14.If there was a witness present, who was it?15.If your parents were informed, how was that done?16.How was your spanking administered?17.If it was done on your bare bottom did you know it would be done that way?18.If it was done on your bare bottom, how were you told that it would be done that way?19.If you were spanked on your bare bottom, how were you prepared for that?20.Please take a moment and tell us about your most memorable school spanking and why you were punished.At the time of this writing, there were 585 responses. We have included charts documenting the answers provided. While many respondents didn't provide much information on Question 20, those responses that were interesting are included in this book, including their responses to all questions. Much of the data is not surprising. Most of the students receiving corporal punishment were males. Most of the students were from the southern United States. While public schools in the south still use corporal punishment, many states have outlawed it in public schools. Private religious schools seem to use it with more consistency and severity.Students in elementary school were usually spanked over the knee with the hand by the teacher, right after the offense. Older students were spanked in a more traditional manner with a paddle or cane, bending over. These were usually done by a principal or headmaster, often after school.Witnesses were often present, but not always, and to our surprise, parents weren't always informed. We were very surprised that a number of respondents claimed that corporal punishment was administered to their bare bottoms.