Talk:Corporal punishment

From Academic Kids

Whole slabs of this article are clearly biased. The article refers to holding an attitude "even as the permissive era draws to a close." The permissive era? That's a fairly contentious notion, and I think it exemplifies the tone of the article: there's an implicit assumtion that corporal punishment is fine and good. That's an opinion, and whoever's been contributing to the article is entitled to hold it, but it is inappropriate for Wikipedia. Regrettably, I don't feel qualified to Wikify the article, as my own knowledge of the matter is limited - I have my own biases, and I don't want to simply replace when set of biases with another. If anyone out there thinks they can bring this up to scratch, that'd be nice.

What I do feel qualified to change is a very simple word: "this" to "that," in regard to the traditions of parental authority in the U.S. This is the World Wide Web - it's safe to assume that some of us out here aren't from the U.S. It'd be a minor issue in isolation, but it's another instance of a NPOV violation in an article full of them.

I removed a passage of text because it was simply a persons own experiences, not particularly well written. While a persons own experiences are certainly valid in some ways, with this particularly emotive subject I could see a situation developing where dozens of people simply added personal anecdotes with no informative value.

I find some of the text questionable:

"There is also the argument that without recourse to the short, sharp smack parents may use forms of emotional violence that are actually more abusive. This has, unfortunately, been seen in police reports coming out of Sweden (first to ban corporal punishment) revealing increased cruelty by both adults and children." I've never heard about this. I'd like to see some proove (external links etc).

"The social science research shows that moderate corporal punishment is quick, safe and effective (and literally superficial) --" I've never heard about this kind of researches.

I also added other countries which have banned the all use of corporal punishment to the text.

Unsourced text removed from the article

I've removed the sentence "This has, unfortunately, been seen in police reports coming out of Sweden (first to ban corporal punishment) revealing increased cruelty by both adults and children." as I have not heard of any such reports; please provide cites if you want to restore it -- note that more than anecdotal evidence would be needed for this. -- The Anome 15:23, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)

I've also removed this entire paragraph:

Some social science research shows that moderate corporal punishment is quick, safe and effective (and literally superficial), but some argue that it may be difficult for parents (especially substance-abusers or those under extreme financial stress) and other authorities to find appropriate limits. Other research shows exactly the opposite, that even mild corporal punishment can cause "anti-social behavior".

OK, there's one lot of research pro-corporal punishment, and another lot anti-corporal punishment -- but they're both unsourced! Sources, please, before anyone restores this paragraph. -- The Anome 15:30, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)

Have cut these two articles out because in their current form they do not add to the article. If someone wanted to analyse them, great; however we should not be reproducing possibly copyrighted media material. 10:55, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

UK SCHOOLGIRL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Taken from a Television Documentary February 1991

The Last School to Cane its Girls

There is still one school in the UK which still canes girls for misbehaving.The private Rodney School in Nottinghamshire carries out the punishment with fullapproval of the Equal Opportunties Commission.The Headmistress of the school belives that if boys are beaten then girls must be too.

The Headmistress insisted 'I dont cane the children to hurt them'. 'Only to shame them'.'Of course the girls deserve equal punishmnet'.'Boys can be more boisterous but girls can be far more devious'.'Children often need putting in their place bringing them down a peg or two'.

The Headmistress who has run the school for 47 years and admits she even beat her own daughter when she was a pupil will use the cane or the slipper if the girls misbehave in school.

Of the 580 senior independent schools in the UK only seven others use Corporal Punishment and then only on boys.But David Thomas of the Equal Opportunities Commission siad schools that continue to use the cane must punish both sexes.

At Rodney School set on magnificent parkland near Newark the girls support their Headmistress who canes them.One 15 year old pupil said 'I had the choice of being gated for three weekends or getting the cane'. 'I decided to have the cane because it would be quicker'.She received three swipes on her open palm after being caught going into town in home clothes instaed of her school uniform added 'If you have done something wrong you should pay for it'.

Her friend a 16 year old girl was also caned in the school for being caught in her dormitory with another girl and some boys when she was 12 she received three strokes of the cane on each hand for this misbehaviour.

Corporal punishment was abolished in UK State Schools in `987 but continued in the private sector until 1999.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN UK SCHOOLS NOVEMBER 1948

MOLLY and Freda, Kathleen, Edna and Sylvia - "the Herongate girls" - are on strike from school and they say, nothing short of forgiveness and the promise of no more caning will get them back again.

All of them have played truant, with their parents' consent, for almost a week, and every day, instead of catching the special bus that should take them from their homes at Herongate to the Brentwood Senior School, three miles away, they wave to their school friends as the bus goes by.

Molly Abbott, aged 12, and Freda, aged 14, are sisters who live in a council house on the Ingrave-road. Kathleen Turner, nearly 15, lives next door. Edna Lee, aged 13, and Sylvia Austin, aged 13, both live about half a mile away.

They Sang

Nearly three weeks ago the "Herongate Girls", with most of the girls on the special bus, were singing "Roll Out the Barrel" and "Run, Rabbit, Run" and other songs on their way home.

The bus conductor and the driver joined in and enjoyed the sing-song. "But Dawn Bloomfield, our prefect, reported us," said Molly to me to-day.

"Two days afterwards Miss James, the headmistress, sent for seven or eight of us and gave us the cane. Dawn was not at school that day, but when she came back three of us - including me - hit her. I pulled her hair for being a tell-tale.

"Her sister went to the school and told Miss James. Then eight of us were put on the stage in the hall and Miss James caned us in front of all the other girls in the school. We ran home and I haven't been back to school since."

'Not Fair'

Mrs. Abbott, Molly's mother, said: "I don't think it's fair that the headmistress should cane the girls for such a simple thing as singing on the bus." Mrs. Turner, Kathleen's mother, told me that her girl had only six weeks or so to remain at school, before she was due to leave.

"I would have taken her back to school to-day but her cousin told me yesterday that Miss James has paraded the whole school and from the stage told them that she had not finished with the Herongate Girls yet.

"According to Kathleen's cousin, Miss James said that when they go back they will either be expelled or caned again. Kathleen won't go back now."

At the school Miss James was "not present" when I called, but had left a message that she did not wish to make any comment.