In 2002, a young boy named Cedric was killed by his special education teacher. Cedric had refused to do his work so his teacher with held his lunch and proceeded to restrain Cedric and sit on him. Cedric was then suffocated in front of him classmates. Although the teacher was eventually charged with murder, there are no federal laws that prevent teachers from putting their students into physical restraints. Individual states may have laws against it, but in states like Texas there are not. Along with Cedric, there have been other reports of abuse in schools. This article highlights Cedric and such cases.
In Illinois corporal punishment in illegal, but physical restraint is permitted. But, physical restraint is only permitted in schools that specifically allow it and teachers must notify parents after it has been used. I know at New Trier, and high schools in general, aren't going to be restraining students any time soon and none of the students in Illinois are at risk for corporal punishments.
When I went school in Paducah, Kentucky, it was legal for my elementary school to enforce corporal punishment. Although I was never paddled and I can't remember hearing about anyone who was actually paddled. But I can remember being at friends houses and seeing "the paddle" sitting on the living room table and hearing my friends younger siblings being paddled in the next room. Now, looking back, it seems extremely hostile and disgusting to paddle a child. But, at the time, when I was in second grade, it was not surprising or strange to me at all to see this happening, that's just how it was.
Now, in the article I linked above, it blames the federal government for not making a national law against corporal punishment and physical restraint in schools. That the teachers are not to blame. I have to disagree with their opinion. Although I do agree that a federal law should be in place to prevent cases like Cedric to occur, I also think the teachers should be held responsible. My older sister is a former teacher and she taught in a school district where corporal punishment was perfectly legal and teachers in her school used "the paddle" all the time. She had the choice to use it or not and she chose not to. It is completely up to the teacher as the whether or not they abuse their students.
I gotta say I agree with you on pretty much all of this. If you want to get really philosophical, who can we really hold accountable?
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, it is the teachers and trhe federal government. Think about it though. People who enforce corporal punishment were probably brought up in a world where they were punished in that manner. It is almost as if corporal punishment indoctrinates children into a society where if you disagree with someone, and you want to impose your views on them, physical altercations must follow. I am willing to bet that if you looked for it, there would be a much stronger pro war sentiment in states and societies where corporal punishment is allowed.
At the same time, we can't expect the federal government to take our (meaning those against corporal punishment in schools) side. The federal government has to regulate between conservatives who will believe in corporal punishment as an effective means of helping children through their lives and liberals who believe that children should be punished without physical pain.
I still think that we can hold both parties accountable (and I will continue to be angry about the predicament) but to truly understand any situation, I think we have to understand all parties and try to understand their motives. This is a much more effective way to get your way.
Really interesting post, Anna! The only thing I was confused about was the link that you made between physical punishment at school and at home. While I don't believe that physical punishment in school is really ever appropriate, I'll agree with Sam on the fact that you have to understand the motives of both parties when dealing with situations at home. In other parts of the world, it's custom to punish children physically with the understanding that it's a lesson to be learned. I'm not saying I agree with this philosophy at all, but it's an interesting thought to contrast the physical punishment inflicted on children in other cultures as opposed to those in the South. Do the children in the South live in an entirely different culture than we do? Why is it so obvious that corporal punishment would never, ever occur at New Trier, and yet in other parts of our own country it's the norm? You lived there, so I'll assume you have a better understanding of that than I do, but I just find it very interesting.
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ReplyDeleteFirst let me say this: any teacher who feels it necassary to restrain or physically abuse ANY special needs child is sorely in need of some physical therapy of their own, and I do not mean in a good way. That said parents MUST be responsible for the upbringing of their kids no matter how much I hate to say it, that means there must be some sort of discipline in the home. There are 10 times more violent crime now than ten years ago, there are 5 times more white collar crime than ten years ago. Why?? because these people were not challenged in school, because these people were not taught the difference between right and wrong, what is morally and ethically correct and how to be good citizenz. I mean come on, if the kids were punished (timeout, grounded, something taken away, etc) and there followed a discussion as to WHY they were being punished and WHY they should not do that again, then I gaurantee these figures would drop I'm not saying they would disappear, because there is just no helping some people, but They would drop. Now I will swat my little one on the behind for refusal to comply only after he's been asked 3 or 4 times and also if he does something dangerous... but I will always explain what he has done and why he was punished, and why he should not do that again. My children by the way would rather not go to war so that theory is probably out the window.
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