Corporal Punishment Abandoned

Corporal punishment abandoned
By Katherine Bieker, Times Correspondent
nwitimes.com (Indiana), September 9, 2004

MERRILLVILLE -- The time for corporal punishment in the Merrillville
Community School Corp. has come and gone.

The Merrillville School Board on Tuesday unanimously voted to rescind
its corporal punishment policy, which allowed teachers to use physical means to
enforce discipline or modify student behavior.

The policy, which was last updated in July 1982, called for corporal
punishment to be used only when other reasonable disciplinary alternatives
failed. Teachers had to have a witness, parents had to be notified and a report
was submitted to the building principal.

Merrillville Superintendent Tony Lux said the corporal punishment
policy conflicted with efforts by the board to create a kinder, gentler school
zone. Last month, the board unanimously adopted a civility policy aimed at
curbing profanity, bullying and harassment on school property.

The civility policy states the school corporation won't tolerate
hostile actions, abusive language, obscenities, verbal harassment or bullying
from children or adults.

Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken for student violations,
according to the school handbook. Adult violators can be restricted from school
property for a specific period of time.

"Corporal punishment has seen its time. I don't think schools are using
it much - I know we haven't used corporal punishment for several years now.
This administration feels there are other forms of behavior modification that
are more effective than corporal punishment," Lux said.

So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

"jitney" wrote in message
om...
So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

There was no mention of that in the article. Is that YOUR solution or are
you trying to put words in their mouths? Or maybe you're just regretting
your loss of opportunity to beat a child?


--
"There are 10 kinds of people in the world:
those who understand binary numbers and those who don't."
-----------------------------
Byron "Barn" Canfield

"jitney" wrote in message
om...
So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

Actually, what has happened here (where 70+% of parents support CP in
schools, but most teachers are unwilling to do it) is that the parents end
up being called if anything significant happens, and the child ends up still
getting spanked, just by the parents. Because, while the school district
has discouraged (although not forbidden, yet anyway) CP, either the
district's finances or educational theory or both have removed about every
other discipline method which can be used, so if you have a child who
doesn't respond to love and logic, about the only thing left to do is to
call home.

On 13 Oct 2004 08:17:51 -0700, (jitney) wrote:

So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

So not using CP will inevitably lead to the use of drugs?

Odd, I never used CP with my children, and as far as I know no drugs
were ever administered to them.

In fact if there WAS a drug involved in my family, it would have to be
named Mutual Respect.

The more I gave them, the more they gave me, at times even surpassing
me, and that at an early age for both.

My children refused to use the childhood manipulations common to
children of punishers. No matter how deeply disappointed they might
be in not being granted something they wanted very much, no tears, no
yelling, no door slamming, no histrionics.

They simply considered if they had negotiated effectively. Sometimes
they would come back a bit later with something on the order of
(language chosen based on age capacity to articulate), "Daddy, if
I.....[fill in the blank]....would you take me to visit Sarah tomorrow
instead of today?"

It looks simple, and in fact it is TO THOSE THAT RAISE THEIR CHIDLREN
WITHOUT PUNISHMENT.

In fact it's much like adults work out their interpersonal business.
Just scaled to the capacity of the children. I believe the most
respectful thing I did was teach them by example, and by instruction,
how to negotiate assertively, rather than aggressively, or sneakily
manipulatively....as you CP compulsives invariably teach your children
to do.

Kane

On 13 Oct 2004 08:17:51 -0700, (jitney) wrote:

So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

So not using CP will inevitably lead to the use of drugs?

Odd, I never used CP with my children, and as far as I know no drugs
were ever administered to them.

In fact if there WAS a drug involved in my family, it would have to be
named Mutual Respect.

The more I gave them, the more they gave me, at times even surpassing
me, and that at an early age for both.

My children refused to use the childhood manipulations common to
children of punishers. No matter how deeply disappointed they might
be in not being granted something they wanted very much, no tears, no
yelling, no door slamming, no histrionics.

They simply considered if they had negotiated effectively. Sometimes
they would come back a bit later with something on the order of
(language chosen based on age capacity to articulate), "Daddy, if
I.....[fill in the blank]....would you take me to visit Sarah tomorrow
instead of today?"

It looks simple, and in fact it is TO THOSE THAT RAISE THEIR CHIDLREN
WITHOUT PUNISHMENT.

In fact it's much like adults work out their interpersonal business.
Just scaled to the capacity of the children. I believe the most
respectful thing I did was teach them by example, and by instruction,
how to negotiate assertively, rather than aggressively, or sneakily
manipulatively....as you CP compulsives invariably teach your children
to do.

Kane

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:46:05 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:


"jitney" wrote in message
. com...
So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

Actually, what has happened here (where 70+% of parents support CP in
schools, but most teachers are unwilling to do it) is that the
parents end
up being called if anything significant happens, and the child ends
up still
getting spanked, just by the parents. Because, while the school
district
has discouraged (although not forbidden, yet anyway) CP, either the
district's finances or educational theory or both have removed about
every
other discipline method which can be used, so if you have a child who
doesn't respond to love and logic, about the only thing left to do is
to
call home.

Sounds about right to me.

While I am adamantly opposed to CP, or for that matter, a punishment
model of parenting, if a child IS to be hit, let the parent deal with
teh consequences up close and personal.

That way they have to live with what they have done, and the very
least the child get's the idea that society, as represented by it's
institutions that deal with chidlren and their issues does NOT condone
or support the use of pain and humiliation of children.

I have never met a child that does not respond to love and logic, IF
one is truly loving and logical.....unfortunately trotting out a label
is not the same as fact. Most so called non punitive parenting methods
are a crock of hidden manipulative exploitation and power politics.

Actual respect for the child, his or her limitations ... and real
capacities is a rare thing. It should not be, but most of us were
crippled and misguied for life by the examples practiced on us as
children.

A strick adherence to a respectful model of parenting, in only a few
generations, would change the face of this planet...was would be gone,
as would poverty, and much mental illness, including medicating one's
self with drugs and alcohol.

Utopian? Well, to those that come from and are compelled to use a CP
model of parenting it looks that way.

To the few that actually DO use a respect model it's just a fact of
daily life. Their children are not hard to handle, nor difficult to
live with...quite the opposite. They are a joy to be with, and the
only tasking they do of the parent is creating an atmosphere where the
parent is called on to THINK.

Kane

"kane" wrote in message
om...
On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:46:05 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:


"jitney" wrote in message
. com...
So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

Actually, what has happened here (where 70+% of parents support CP in
schools, but most teachers are unwilling to do it) is that the
parents end
up being called if anything significant happens, and the child ends
up still
getting spanked, just by the parents. Because, while the school
district
has discouraged (although not forbidden, yet anyway) CP, either the
district's finances or educational theory or both have removed about
every
other discipline method which can be used, so if you have a child who
doesn't respond to love and logic, about the only thing left to do is
to
call home.

Sounds about right to me.

While I am adamantly opposed to CP, or for that matter, a punishment
model of parenting, if a child IS to be hit, let the parent deal with
teh consequences up close and personal.

That way they have to live with what they have done, and the very
least the child get's the idea that society, as represented by it's
institutions that deal with chidlren and their issues does NOT condone
or support the use of pain and humiliation of children.

I have never met a child that does not respond to love and logic, IF
one is truly loving and logical.....unfortunately trotting out a label
is not the same as fact. Most so called non punitive parenting methods
are a crock of hidden manipulative exploitation and power politics.

I think the problem is that, first, a teacher can never know the children in
the classroom as well as a parent can, and therefore doesn't have the
background which makes such strategies as effective, and second, that
children who have been raised with punitive discipline have a hard time
transferring to any other strategy. It is much easier to dialog with only a
few children than with 30, and when you start having a multi-period
schedule, it gets even more difficult, because of time constraints.

Which is why I think that having a time-out room, where a child can go and
actually talk through the situation with an adult is one of the best
investments a school can make-but is one that usually isn't done for
financial reasons. Because a majority of the time, children's behavior IS
logical-it's just a matter of figuring out their logic and, if necessary,
giving the child other strategies to use the next time.

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 17:32:57 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:


"kane" wrote in message
. com...
On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:46:05 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:


"jitney" wrote in message
. com...
So now they will drug them up with Ritalin and other
mind-altering
drugs instead.-Jitney

Actually, what has happened here (where 70+% of parents support CP
in
schools, but most teachers are unwilling to do it) is that the
parents end
up being called if anything significant happens, and the child
ends
up still
getting spanked, just by the parents. Because, while the school
district
has discouraged (although not forbidden, yet anyway) CP, either
the
district's finances or educational theory or both have removed
about
every
other discipline method which can be used, so if you have a child
who
doesn't respond to love and logic, about the only thing left to do
is
to
call home.

Sounds about right to me.

While I am adamantly opposed to CP, or for that matter, a
punishment
model of parenting, if a child IS to be hit, let the parent deal
with
teh consequences up close and personal.

That way they have to live with what they have done, and the very
least the child get's the idea that society, as represented by it's
institutions that deal with chidlren and their issues does NOT
condone
or support the use of pain and humiliation of children.

I have never met a child that does not respond to love and logic,
IF
one is truly loving and logical.....unfortunately trotting out a
label
is not the same as fact. Most so called non punitive parenting
methods
are a crock of hidden manipulative exploitation and power politics.

I think the problem is that, first, a teacher can never know the
children in
the classroom as well as a parent can, and therefore doesn't have the
background which makes such strategies as effective, and second, that
children who have been raised with punitive discipline have a hard
time
transferring to any other strategy. It is much easier to dialog with
only a
few children than with 30, and when you start having a multi-period
schedule, it gets even more difficult, because of time constraints.

Which is why I think that having a time-out room, where a child can
go and
actually talk through the situation with an adult is one of the best
investments a school can make-but is one that usually isn't done for
financial reasons. Because a majority of the time, children's
behavior IS
logical-it's just a matter of figuring out their logic and, if
necessary,
giving the child other strategies to use the next time.

High Donna. Plan on being accused of being my sock puppet.

It's the standard ploy when the Compulsive CPrs are confronted with
the obvious truth.

I like that time out for discussion. I've recommended similar methods
for parents, especially those with special needs children, their bio
own or adopted or fostered.

I like to use a stuffed toy, as Po the Mediator (a stuffed doggie).
The child can talk to the dog for a time..and the parent...well, you
get the idea of how creative everyone can become.

I gave him to a good friend in memorial to the person, a fine man
indeed, that introduced me to the idea and allowed me to use the toy.

She was closer to him than I, but both of us considered him a precious
gem in dealing with children and parents respectfully.

We all gotta have a hero, and he's my main man.

Kane

kane, you're more full of $hit than a Xmas goose.-Jitney