Counterpoint: Corporal Punishment is Necessary for Discipline and Safety

Published: 2021-07-12
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Carnegie Mellon University
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A lot of unruly behavior by students, especially in public schools characterizes the school environment today. Normally, it works if children are taught to respect authority figures from when they are in their childhood. For example, some parents take it upon themselves to spank their kids when they become disobedient or when they act recklessly. However, times have changed, and parents are becoming more and more lenient. Todays parents do not believe that corporal punishment should help their kids become better discipline wise. Instead, they use ways such as grounding to punish their children. This paper provides a counterpoint to the view that corporal punishment is essential for discipline and safety.

Corporal punishment has always been there in society. Nevertheless, just like everything else in society, corporal punished has changed into something else. Parents are now grounding their children while teachers are offering counseling and detention classes. In my opinion, society should learn to accept the changes because those who are born into todays society want to live the way they find society allows them to live. For instance, students of this generation are aware that when they do something wrong, they should expect to counsel. However, if the school decides to use corporal punishment, the students will feel as if society is abandoning them. This is because by agreeing to provide counseling, the schools have become part of todays society. If certain schools exact corporal punishment, then it should already be in the schools regulations. This way, when students are joining such schools, they are aware of what is expected of them.

Aside from the fact that corporal punishment is slowly fading in todays society, studies have shown that it has severe effects on a students behavior. For instance, children who are accustomed to corporal punishment by their parents and teachers tend to exhibit aggressive and antisocial behavior as they grow up. This behavior is prevalent among high school and college students. Instead of instilling good behavior in their children and students, parents and teachers end up transforming them into people who feel alienated from the rest of the society. When students who exhibit such behavior proceed into later stages of their lives, they are likely to become depressed and even suicidal. These are very severe side effects, which could affect ones personal life.

There is always going to be a group of individuals who feel that corporal punishment works better on children. However, it important for people, especially teachers to understand that people have different characters and personalities. In earlier times when corporal punishment was the only way of punishment in schools, schools had not discovered other ways of dealing with bad behavior. However, after new ways such as counseling were discovered, teachers realized that corporal punishment is an extreme measure. In fact, early studies on the effects of corporal punishment showed that it has specific undesirable effects on some people. Evidently, those individuals who receive corporal punishment tend to exhibit fear towards those who inflict the punishment. This can be very detrimental to a students performance because he or she is supposed to have a good rapport with the teachers instead of fearing them.

Teachers should work to ensure that the new methods are as effective as they are supposed to be. When this does not work, teachers always have the option of involving parents. Some parents tend to show leniency while others prefer to act weightily. As long as a childs parents are involved, the schools issue with the student discipline can be well communicated, and both parties can agree on the best way forward. This is also another way of punishing students. Making them aware of their mistakes and providing them with actual ultimatums to help remind them of what will happen when they behave in accordingly.

Corporal punishment could also have other consequences that affect schools in general. For instance, when corporal punishment is introduced later due to new policies by schools, students are likely to react negatively. As noted, students in todays generation already feel that corporal punishment in schools should not exist. If it does not exist, then school administrators should not work to reintroduce it. If corporal punishment is introduced later, it could inflame reactions from students, which may result in events such as strikes. Such actions could end up affecting the learning system in schools. This is a situation, which school administrators would like to avoid. Aside from being disruptive, it is also not safe.

If possible, the government should work to ensure that corporal punishment is eradicated from schools. Other ways of punishing students have proven to be successful. If corporal punishment is to be allowed by law, then it is only supposed to be exacted by ones parents. Furthermore, school administrators should be careful when putting in place their disciplinary measures. If corporal punishment regulations already exist in an institution, they are safe to exact. If they are introduced later, they are likely to have adverse effects. At the same time, teachers should pay attention to the findings on the effects of corporal punishment to help eradicate the measure.

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