| Here are a few words of caution to parents who | | | | Capitol Building, Room PL 08 |
| have children in schools that use violent punishments, | | | | Tallahassee, FL 32301 |
| a.k.a. paddling. They need to anticipate | | | | Tel.: (904) 487-1785 FAX: (904)488-1492 |
| disingenuousness on the part of educators and | | | | Web site: |
| administrators who typically do not invite dialog with the | | | | Office of the State Superintendent of Schools |
| public on this topic. When drawn into discussions about | | | | Twin Towers East |
| "discipline," school officials are apt to trot out those | | | | Atlanta, GA 30334-5001 |
| familiar, well-rehearsed, stock responses, the purpose | | | | Tel.: (404) 657-0516 |
| of which is to divert criticism and lull parents.MYTH - | | | | Web site: |
| Corporal punishment is used only after all other means | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| have failed and is governed by strict guidelines.FACT - | | | | Idaho Department of Education |
| The number of pupils beaten will always be grossly | | | | Len B. Jordan Office Building |
| underestimated because school administrators are | | | | 650 West State Street |
| savvy enough to AVOID saying things that might | | | | P.O. Box 83720 |
| alarm the public or draw attention to themselves. | | | | Boise, ID 83720 |
| Furthermore, What does 'strict guidelines' mean? More | | | | Tel.: (208) 334-3300 FAX: (208) 334-2228 |
| often than not, violent punishments are used as a first | | | | Web site: |
| response for trivial offenses. Guidelines, where they | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| exist at all, exist more on paper than in practice. As a | | | | Indiana Department of Education |
| general rule, reliance on fear, force and violence in | | | | State House, Room 229 |
| educational settings is inversely proportional to the level | | | | Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798 |
| of competence of the educators involved. The least | | | | Tel.: (317) 232-6665 FAX: (317) 232-8004 |
| competent tend to be the most violent. They are also | | | | ideanet.doe.state.in.usKANSAS |
| the most resistant to reform and most rejecting of | | | | Office of the Commissioner of Education |
| other methods to correct unacceptable | | | | 120 South East Tenth Avenue |
| behavior.MYTH - Teachers' right to resort to corporal | | | | Topeka, KS 66612-1182 |
| punishment must be retained because certain students | | | | Tel.: (913) 296-3202 FAX: (913) 296-7933 |
| can't be controlled by any other means.FACT - Violent | | | | Web site: |
| punishment causes far more bad behavior than it | | | | Office of the Commissioner of Education |
| corrects, if it corrects at all. The more some children | | | | Kentucky Department of Education |
| are subject to educator violence, the more | | | | Capitol Plaza Tower - 500 Mero Street |
| misbehaved they become. The very act of physical | | | | Frankfort, KY 40601 |
| punishment destroys trust and engenders hostility | | | | Tel.: (502) 564-3141 FAX: (502) 564-5680 |
| toward the institution that is supposed to be serving | | | | Web site: |
| them. As for children who conform outwardly due to | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Education |
| fear of punishment, they are receiving an education | | | | Louisiana Department of Education |
| mainly in one subject area: the abuse of power. Some | | | | 626 North 4th Street, 12th Floor |
| of them will put that lesson into practice at the earliest | | | | Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064 |
| opportunity.MYTH - Well-behaved children have | | | | Tel.: (504) 342-3602 FAX: (504) 342-7316 |
| nothing to worry about.FACT - Wherever pupil beating | | | | Web site: |
| is allowed, all children worry about it. They know that | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Education |
| punishers typically act on impulse and are rarely, if | | | | State Department of Education |
| ever, called upon to justify their actions before or after | | | | 550 High Street, Room 501 |
| the fact. A steady diet of fear and anxiety impedes | | | | Jackson, MS 39201 |
| learning and, moreover, is dangerous to children's | | | | Tel.: (601) 359-3512 FAX: (601) 359-3242 |
| health.MYTH - This method of pupil management has | | | | Web site: |
| been in use for many years and it is overwhelmingly | | | | Office of the Commissioner of Education |
| supported by parents and the public.FACT - It is true | | | | Missouri Department of Elementary |
| that violent pupil management has been used | | | | & Secondary Education |
| throughout recorded history. But today, only the most | | | | 205 Jefferson Street, 6th Floor |
| culturally backward places continue to use it. In almost | | | | Jefferson City, MO 65102 |
| the entire democratic world, violent punishment of | | | | Tel.: (572) 751-4446 FAX: (573) 751-1179 |
| schoolchildren is illegal, and nowhere is it making a | | | | Web site: MEXICO |
| comeback. The dwindling number of parents who | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| approve of these methods are themselves the | | | | New Mexico Department of Education |
| products of such a system. Naturally, they feel | | | | Education Building |
| reassured when they see teachers at school modeling | | | | 300 Don Gaspar |
| the same bad behavior that they use on their own | | | | Santa Fe, NM 87501-2786 |
| children at home. Violent parents and violent teachers | | | | Tel.: (505) 827-6688 FAX: (505) 827-6520 |
| alike delude themselves when they claim that their | | | | Web site: sde.state.nm.us/NORTH CAROLINA |
| methods are universally approved.MYTH -- It | | | | Office of the State Superintendent of Public |
| works.FACT -- If it worked, why do punishers have to | | | | Education |
| keep punishing? And why are our maximum security | | | | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction |
| prisons filled with violent felons who were reared and | | | | Education Building |
| educated by these very same methods? Parents tend | | | | 301 North Wilmington Street |
| to trust educators who, after all, are highly trained in | | | | Raleigh, NC 27601-2825 |
| their specialty and are licensed by the state. And | | | | Tel.: (919) 715-1277 FAX: (919) 715-1278 |
| virtually all parents want to believe that those who | | | | Web site: |
| take charge of their child at school are motivated by | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| genuine, nurturing feelings toward the child. Educators | | | | Ohio Department of Education |
| recognize and pander to this powerful, natural desire. | | | | 65 South Front Street, Room 810 |
| Deliberate vagueness about the details serves the | | | | Columbus, OH 43215-4183 |
| needs of both parties: the practical needs of the | | | | Tel.: (614) 466-3304 FAX: (614) 644-5960 |
| educators and the emotional needs of the parents. | | | | Web site: |
| Responsible, thoughtful parents, however, need to bear | | | | Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| in mind that they are delegating their most important | | | | Oklahoma State Department of Education |
| responsibility to total strangers - strangers who have | | | | Hodge Education Building |
| their own agenda, who vary widely in their level of | | | | 2500 North Lincoln Boulevard |
| competence, who operate with minimal supervision | | | | Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599 |
| and with near-absolute impunity. Few people would | | | | Tel.: (405) 521-4887 FAX: (405) 421-6205 |
| hand over their car keys in the same circumstances, | | | | Web site: sde.state.ok.us/PENNSYLVANIA (Some |
| with the same degree of trust. Readers who visit the | | | | school districts ban corporal punishment) |
| state education Web sites listed below and look for | | | | Office of the Secretary of Education |
| the word "paddle" or the phrase "corporal punishment" | | | | Pennsylvania Department of Education |
| will come up empty-handed. One would never guess | | | | 333 Market Street. 10th Floor |
| that in these school systems children are beaten in | | | | Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333 |
| their pelvic area with wooden weapons between 1/3 | | | | Tel.: (717) 787-5820 FAX (717) 787-7222 |
| and 1/2 million times annually according to the most | | | | Web site: CAROLINA |
| conservative estimates. Some researchers estimate | | | | Office of the State Superintendent of Education |
| the number of legal pupil beatings in the 22 pupil | | | | South Carolina Department of Education |
| beating states at about 1 million per year. Small wonder | | | | 1006 Rutledge Building |
| nobody's talking!States which allow corporal | | | | 1429 Senate Street |
| punishment:ALABAMA | | | | Columbia, SC 29201 |
| Office of the Superintendent of Education | | | | Tel.: (803) 734-8492 FAX: (803) 734-4426 |
| Alabama Department of Education | | | | Web site: |
| Gordon Persons Office Building | | | | Office of the Commissioner of Education |
| 50 North Ripley Street | | | | Tennessee Department of Education |
| P.O. Box 302102 | | | | Sixth Floor, Gateway Plaza |
| Montgomery, AL 36130-2101 | | | | 710 James Robertson Parkway |
| Tel.: (334) 242-9702 FAX: (334) 242-9708 | | | | Nashville, TN 37243-0375 |
| Web site: | | | | Tel.: (615) 741-2731 FAX: (615) 741-6236 |
| Office of the Director | | | | Web site: |
| Arizona Department of Education | | | | Office of the Commissioner of Education |
| State Capitol | | | | Office of the Texas Education Agency |
| 1700 W. Washington | | | | William B. Travis Building |
| Phoenix, AZ 85007 | | | | 1701 North Congress Avenue |
| Tel.: (602) 542-5460 FAX(602) 542-5440 | | | | Austin, TX 78701-1494 |
| Web site: | | | | Tel.: (512) 463-5825 FAX: (512) 463-9008 |
| Office of the Director | | | | Web site: |
| Arkansas Department of Education | | | | Office of the State Department of Public Instruction |
| Four State Capitol Mall, Room 304 A | | | | Wyoming Department of Education |
| Little Rock, AR 72201-1071 | | | | 2300 Capitol Avenue, 2nd Floor |
| Tel.: (501) 682-4204 FAX: (501) 682 1079 | | | | Hathaway Building |
| Web site: arkedu.state.ar.usCOLORADO | | | | Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050 |
| Office of the Commissioner of Education | | | | Tel.: (307) 777-7675 FAX: (307) 777-6234 |
| Colorado Department of Education | | | | Web site: |
| 201 East Colfax Avenue | | | | Information courtesy of Jordan Riak M. Neddermeyer, |
| Denver, CO 80203-1799 | | | | PhD, author, If I'd Only Known...Sexual Abuse in or out |
| Tel.: (303) 866-6808 FAX: (303) 866-6938 | | | | of the Family: A Guide to Prevention is known for her |
| Web site: | | | | pioneering work in verbal, physical and sexual abuse |
| Office of the Commissioner of Education | | | | prevention and recovery. |
| Florida Department of Education | | | | |