corporal punishment - never did me any harm

[MontyVeda]

It never did me any harm either but I still don't think it's right. We don't beat adults to punish them so why should youngsters be different? Even if we did have a culture of more physical punishment for adults I would be uneasy about using it on anyone below 18.

I do however think that youngsters need to be taught that responsibilities come along with rights and they are probably more important. How we teach this I have no real idea as each person is different.

What he said.

 

[vernon]

I wasn't. I was, I thought, taking the mickey out of those who would. The humourless bloodlust that ensued was a bit of a disappointment

A bit of thread drift into exam performance followed by an unrefined tug back to corporal punishment. Not for one moment did I think that you were supportive of the delivery of corporal punishment.

 

[twobiker]

Corporal punishment is not needed, what is required is a return to good parenting, children who are shown the meaning of right and wrong from the beginning , all to often it seems the family life has broken down, Latchkey kids left to their own devices,or dumped in front of the tv, for self amusement, parents who let their kids roam the streets with no idea what they are up to till 10oclock at night, in most trouble spots caught on camera there is always a group of kids in the background.

 

[goo_mason]

I was at school when the belt was banned, and witnessed the resulting chaos that ensued. Before, you'd have the typical 'hard man' and his gang of wee hangers-on. He'd always push it in class (throw a desk at a teacher, scream and swear, assault other pupils etc etc), but his hangers-on were not quite up to his standards as they were, in effect, cowards and were scared of being belted.

The minute the belt was withdrawn, all hell broke loose. The hangers-on could go just as mental as their leader, with no punishment to be scared of. They got a 'punishment exercise' to do, which they wouldn't do - they'd just tell the teacher to eff-off. They'd be given a double punishment exercise for that, which got the same response. And so it continued.

I tell you, I was glad I was in my second-last year when that happened, as more time was then spent by the teachers trying to control the pupils than they spent actually teaching anyone. Education took a back seat to riot control...

 

[growingvegetables]

I was at school when the belt was banned, and witnessed the resulting chaos that ensued. .... Education took a back seat to riot control...

No surprise. Generations of teachers with no experience or training in any other technique than beating a kid - suddenly bereft of their crutch. I'm dead glad I left Scotland before the ban came in - hated the belt with a passion, but I'd no alternative techniques/skills then.

I came back to UK after 20 years and took up teaching again - and the standard of behaviour and conflict management skill around in schools is just so different. Hey, it's not brilliant - lots of teachers still struggle with it. But the practice of relying on "hard *******s" with belts/canes is gone; good riddance.

IME, it's a case of knowing who around you has the skills to defuse, contain, and manage unstable, angry, and potentially violent situations. In my last couple of jobs, I got called on a lot - and everybody knew who NOT to call on (unless you really wanted to throw petrol on a spark).

 

[slowmotion]

I'm not an advocate of corporal punishment. It seems faintly medieval today but times have changed. I started secondary school in 1967, and order was largely maintained by the prefects who were allowed to beat junior pupils, though not with canes. It may sound strange to some people, but it really wasn't a big deal to me or my school friends. Towards the end of my time at school, CP was phased out and detentions were introduced as a punishment. Most of us much preferred a beating to the tedium of detention. I'm not sure if I have been scarred for life. Others should be the judge of that.