Should the corporal punishment be allowed in grade school or no - Essay Example

Argumentative essay on Whether or not corporal punishment should be allowed in grade school. There have been a number of debates over the question whether corporal punishment should be allowed in grade school or not. A large number of educators, philosophers, psychologists, human rights activist, teachers and administrators have actively participated in this debate. There have been a number of world nations that has abolished corporal punishments from their educational system whereas corporal punishments still remain legal in some other nations.

It can be seen that judicial corporal punishments in schools are still prevalent many parts of Africa and Asian even though majority of the Western World have done away with the practice. In simple terms, corporal punishment can be understood as inflicting physical pain on the learners for their offences and mistakes. Very often, schools and administrators resort to corporal punishments either to deter or reform children from wrong doing and socially unaccepted behaviors. While supporters of corporal punishment do so for retributive and deterrent purposes, there are many who argue that corporal punishments should be banned or abolished on grounds of ethics, human rights, and on psychological and emotional grounds.

Analyzing the pros and cons of corporal punishments this paper seeks to argue that corporal punishments should not be allowed in grade school. Schools, both teachers and administrators make use of corporal punishments with a view to maintain discipline and order in the school setting or environment. Corporal punishments at schools are based on the democratic principle that everyone has equal rights and that the students who encroach on others’ rights and prove themselves to be problem children are to be offered exemplary punishments.

These punishments are often used as a form of deterrence, scaring the other students not to repeat the same sort of behavior. However, there are many who argue that the permission to engage in corporal punishments will often result in zero tolerance. Kincheloe, in this respect, observes that “although corporal punishment, in both its retributive and deterrent forms, has traditionally been a common form of punishment for students, a different form of deterrence, zero tolerance, has been growing in prominence and eclipsing corporal punishment policies” (Kincheloe, 2006, p. 256). This zero tolerance very often leads to serious problems of disproportionally harsh punishments and there have been a number of reported instances where teachers have displayed violent attitudes with regard to corporal punishments.

All these have prompted the supporters of anti-corporal punishment to think in terms of alternatives to corporal punishments, such as detention, out-of-school suspension, and in-school suspension. Similarly, there are many researchers and educational thinkers who argue that preschool or the beginning of Kindergarten is a crucial period when the child acquires a lot of social skills and as such corporal punishments should not be inflicted on them during this period. During the initial stages of their schooling the type of discipline used in the school has got great impact on the young minds.

In this regard, the American Academy of Pediatrics is completely against the use of corporal punishment in the school environment. For them, “corporal punishment may hurt a child’s self-esteem as well as his or her ability to achieve in school” and it can also “lead to disruptive and violent behavior in the classroom” (Ricci & Kyle, 2008, p. 843). Therefore, it is high time that corporal punishments are taken away from the educational scenario of the nation. To conclude, it can be stated that corporal punishments have more of negative impacts on students rather than its positive sides.

There are no evidences to prove that spanking will inculcate sound moral and ethical values among school children. There are many who resort to spanking just out of anger and frustration. On the other hand, offering timely guidance to the learners, providing support and love to them may have better effects on the psychological and emotional needs of children. References Ricci, S.S & Kyle, T. (2008). Maternity and pediatric nursing. Illustrated edn: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Kincheloe, J.L. (2006).

The Praeger handbook of urban education, Volume 1. Greenwood Publishing Group.