British Democracy Forum - View Single Post - Policy Suggestion: Reintroduce Smacking to Some Schools

Anthony Butcher · 23-09-2004, 12:32 AM

Firstly, I think that smacking is a sign of failure; it means that relations with a child have broken down to the extent that verbal reasoning won't work. It should always be a last resort, when all else has failed.

However, if we ban smacking by parents, we take away that last resort. Suddenly there is no ultimate punishment that parents can use to control their children. We have seen the effect of this in schools; the ban on smacking and caning has made behaviour much worse in many schools. It leaves teachers very vulnerable and allows badly behaved children to run riot in classrooms, sucking up the attention of teachers. This in turn damages the education of the better bahaved children.

The problem is that we have to balance the rights of a child with the needs of a child, and the rights of the other children in a classroom. While a ban on smacking improves the human rights of an individual child it simultaneously damages their need to learn control and discipline, and counters the right of other children not to have their school time disrupted. Children sometimes cannot see the dangers that they place themselves and others in, or the disruption/damage/offence that they are causing. Reasoning with a four year old about putting fingers in an electrical socket, rather than smacking the hand, potentially risks that child's life unnecessarily.

There is also the issue that we are turning our population INTO phpbb_a bunch of pathetic drips, scared of a little pain. A smack, caning or slippering hurts for a little while, and then the pain goes. Big deal. There is a huge difference between receiving a smack and being abused or beaten up. If a smack helps to improve a child's behaviour and safety in the long term, then I think that this is a worthwhile price.

As I mentioned, the lack of ultimate punishment in schools means that head teachers are left with exclusion as the sole final "punishment" for disruptive behaviour. A day off school is hardly either a punishment or a constructive way to help a child who is falling behind. The lack of corporal punishment also means that teachers have to waste valuable time asking pupils to be quiet time and again. Parents have their time wasted arranging child care for excluded children. Worst of all, the children simply don't care a great deal about being excluded, so it doesn't act as much of a deterrent to further bad behaviour.

Giving a child a smack, slipper or cane on the other hand is a punishment that no child wants (so it works as a deterrent) and is over very quickly, enabling the child to continue in school. The threat of a smack gives teachers a real control over the behaviour of children. This takes up far less time for the staff and the parents, improves the general class behaviour and improves the attendence time for unruly children.

On top of retaining the right of parents to smack their children, we should allow some schools to reintroduce smacking, slippering and the cane, thus giving parents the choice about whether they want their children to be smacked or not. Schools with corporal punishment would get significantly improved academic results, and the children would be better behaved and happier at school.

23-09-2004, 12:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Long Ashton, Bristol Posts: 9,823 Party: None	Policy Suggestion: Reintroduce Smacking to Some Schools Firstly, I think that smacking is a sign of failure; it means that relations with a child have broken down to the extent that verbal reasoning won't work. It should always be a last resort, when all else has failed. However, if we ban smacking by parents, we take away that last resort. Suddenly there is no ultimate punishment that parents can use to control their children. We have seen the effect of this in schools; the ban on smacking and caning has made behaviour much worse in many schools. It leaves teachers very vulnerable and allows badly behaved children to run riot in classrooms, sucking up the attention of teachers. This in turn damages the education of the better bahaved children. The problem is that we have to balance the rights of a child with the needs of a child, and the rights of the other children in a classroom. While a ban on smacking improves the human rights of an individual child it simultaneously damages their need to learn control and discipline, and counters the right of other children not to have their school time disrupted. Children sometimes cannot see the dangers that they place themselves and others in, or the disruption/damage/offence that they are causing. Reasoning with a four year old about putting fingers in an electrical socket, rather than smacking the hand, potentially risks that child's life unnecessarily. There is also the issue that we are turning our population INTO phpbb_a bunch of pathetic drips, scared of a little pain. A smack, caning or slippering hurts for a little while, and then the pain goes. Big deal. There is a huge difference between receiving a smack and being abused or beaten up. If a smack helps to improve a child's behaviour and safety in the long term, then I think that this is a worthwhile price. As I mentioned, the lack of ultimate punishment in schools means that head teachers are left with exclusion as the sole final "punishment" for disruptive behaviour. A day off school is hardly either a punishment or a constructive way to help a child who is falling behind. The lack of corporal punishment also means that teachers have to waste valuable time asking pupils to be quiet time and again. Parents have their time wasted arranging child care for excluded children. Worst of all, the children simply don't care a great deal about being excluded, so it doesn't act as much of a deterrent to further bad behaviour. Giving a child a smack, slipper or cane on the other hand is a punishment that no child wants (so it works as a deterrent) and is over very quickly, enabling the child to continue in school. The threat of a smack gives teachers a real control over the behaviour of children. This takes up far less time for the staff and the parents, improves the general class behaviour and improves the attendence time for unruly children. On top of retaining the right of parents to smack their children, we should allow some schools to reintroduce smacking, slippering and the cane, thus giving parents the choice about whether they want their children to be smacked or not. Schools with corporal punishment would get significantly improved academic results, and the children would be better behaved and happier at school.