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Proposed New Law in Kansas- spanking with marks

1K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  junipermoon 
#1 ·
I grew up in Kansas, and remember a paddle on the wall of the principal's office. Corporal punishment was definately the trend there in the 80's. I'm kind of upset to see it is making a comeback. Why on earth would anyone think it would be ok to hit a child multiple times, and hard enough to leave bruises/marks?? So upset with my home state!

http://news.yahoo.com/kansas-bill-allow-spanking-leaves-marks-173137806.html

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/18/4831665/proposed-kansas-bill-would-allow.html
 
#4 ·
I can't think of any scenario where a teacher hitting a child would be appropriate. Anyone? If an adult hits another adult, isn't it assualt/battery and one can press charges?
 
#5 ·
This is so concerning to me. One of the articles you linked to said the bill may not even be reviewed, though, which is the only not crazy part of the story, I guess.

It's weird to me that so many states still let schools hit children.

I've never hit my kids, and if someone at school did it would be traumatic to them, I think.

I went to kindy in North Carolina in the early 80's and remember my teacher spanking me pretty hard with a wooden spoon because I was humming during the nap time after a warning to stop. I hadn't meant to, it sort of just slipped out. I remember blaming myself but feeling too shy, after, to tell my teacher I was sorry. That's so messed up to me.

I remember less forceful and less traumatic paddling too--so bizarre--our teacher kept a list of students who'd broken rules and in the afternoon, if there were more than a few of us, we'd have to wait in a line for our turn to be hit. I stood in that line twice and don't remember what for; don't remember feeling abused but in retrospect it is abusive. Also toxic to have to watch this line everyday. Felt icky. I think the violence alienated me from the learning environment, and created a vibe in the classroom that was oppressive; students were often frightened and angry.

It's shocking to me that the federal government inches away from dealing with corporal punishment in the school communities in the south who still use it...it's legalized assault. Anyone know why this is allowed to continue? Is it just so cultural that no one wants to intervene?
 
#6 ·
One of the articles talks about 'giving control' back to parents. I think this stems from our harsh patriarchal society, where maintaining control of the repressed and weak allows the oppresive classes to retain power. I don't know, maybe allowing inpoverished people to beat their own kids makes them feel more powerful and less likely to rebel against employers/government?? Kansas used to have a very strong middle class, but I've noticed, in the last couple of decades, the gap between rich and poor has increased a lot.

I would never, ever allow anyone to hit my kids, let alone a teacher! I just can't imagine how this would be conducive to learning. I wonder if this is still a frequent occurance in some states...

Juniper-- Your stories sound terrible. I seriously can't imagine a school where kids have to line up to be assaulted! It was legal where I grew up, but I never witnessed any violence (this was in the early 80's). I did attend a fairly upper-middle class school though. It may have been different in other neighborhoods.
 
#7 ·
thank you for understanding that it was horrible, laura! it was, and I feel silly needing to say that. it's so rediculous but even 30 years later I still feel a little bit ashamed that I disobeyed with the humming and got into trouble like that. I guess that's why this should absolutely be illegal. Because it's damaging to the psyche?

maybe re: class. i don't know. I work with teens who are from the inner city and beating with a belt is still pretty common in the home, and this is in PA. Not sure what the laws are here with that. kids are hesitant to talk about it though bc they think child protection will swoop in on their folks. cps doesn't bother with that stuff here, I think. again, not sure. as a therapist, I've seen no consistency in how cps handles anything in my area.

It is just so sad to me that this senator has thought through that she thinks that bruises are ok---seems to suggest something miserable re: her own childhood, or her own parenting, or both, right?
 
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