Would you let a teacher smack your child?

[lyrasdaemon]

According to a survey in today's Times Educational Supplement, 20 per cent of teachers favour a return to corporal punishment. The story can be found here.

Are there any circumstances in which you would let a teacher inflict corporal punishment on your child, or are you opposed to it full stop?

Here is another one.

A teenage boy, excluded for 2 weeks for pulling girls trousers down in the playground (this is teenagers, now, not primary age childrn)

the girls were around 13 and were utterly mortified.

Idiot mother of the boy came into school to complain.

Form tutor said, 'Mrs X, tell you what,, you come into school tomorrow, I'll pull your trousers down in front of the playground and see how you feel'

He was bollocked by the SMT.

At primary school we still lived under the threat of the cane and rumours abounded about who had had it (no one, actually). My brothers, however, both endured the ferule (sp?) on palms.

As this government has seen fit to tell me I am not allowed to 'hit' my own child (not that we did, anyway), I would certainly take issue with anyone else doing it.

Kerrymum you're entitled to your opinion as to what the answer should be. I was merely pointing out that it was not a silly question for the OP to ask when millions alive now did indeed allow their children to be smacked in school.

That's how you find out things. By asking questions.

I don't think it was a silly question-it was asked in a response to a survey.

I don't want want anyone smacked. But I think if we are going to improve displine in schools then we have to start with the parents.

In the majority of cases, badly behaved kids are the result of uncaring parents. For example there is a boy in my son's class who at the age who called his class teacher an "F Cnt!" Surely the blame for such awful behaviour at the age of six lies with the parents.

Rather than smacking the parents, why not have complusory parenting classes. Or maybe fines for non attendence of important meetings like IEP reviews. Or maybe more residental EBD boarding schools for children who behavior is uncontrollable due to lack of parenting.

I think there would have be a level of discretion. It would be wrong to fine parents who are clearly trying.

It strikes me that adults do get 'smacked'. Not literally, but if we don't obey rules we get sent to prison, made to do community service, fined etc and that is backed up by physical force as needed.

In addition there are other pressures such as 'not getting invited to things' 'not getting promoted' and so on.

When we took away smacking in school what did we replace it with? You can tell a kid to do detention, but if he refuses and kicks a few desks over what can you do? Yes you can suspend/expel kids, but to many that is a free holiday.

If we canceled all punishments for adults why would we expect anything other than anarchy?
I've not seen any proposals to do away with the laws and just ask people to behave nicely.

"lots of things were acceptable not too long ago...."

Not so long ago it was acceptable for teachers should be treated with respect and that parents would back up any punishments given by them. If I had ever gone home and complained to my parents about getting into trouble at school I would have been in even more trouble, there would never be any quetion of them storming up to the school to demand the punishment be revoked.

I am not condoning smacking as I stated earlier (don't even smack my own kids so wouldn't want a teacher too) but it now seems "acceptable" to some parents that their children swear at, shout, ignore muck about with teachers and disrupt other childrens learning. What sanctions do teachers really have? Their hands are tied in alot of cases. WHat is the solution? No one seems to have any constructive ideas.

So many kids are pandered to now. The number of tantrumatic year 3 and 4s in the school I work at (NO NOT SN KIDS before any one pounces)is unbelievable. It seems we are not allowed to tell kids off now and god forbid we should shout at them. No we have to namby pamby to their little whims lest their thugish parents come into threaten us with slander.

MB [shock} at your stories. Makes me so mad when teachers justify their actions and stick up for them selves and end up in trouble for it by the SMT. Unbelievable.

it should read

20% of teachers asked in a survey.

and its good to see that many of those who are against using violence against children are happy to use violence against another adult.

You have to bear in mind that many of them don't mean it anyway. They probably had a bad day and are letting off steam!

If you simply brought back corporal punishment and tried to use it on today's children, many teachers would end up punched or stabbed and if the children did not retaliate there and then, they would definitely get their mates together and start a campaign of intimidation against said teacher.

It is such a short-sighted response to the problem of difficult children. We need to be going right back to the causes of such ill discipline and lack of respect.

Totally agree Janni- to the bloody parents who don't parent and try to be best friends with their dcs!

No way. Nor, as a teacher, would I want to smack anyone else's child.
(Shut them in a cupboard from time to time...now that's a different matter...)

No.

I wouldn't allow anyone to smack my child. I don't smack my child. DH doesnt smack our child. No one does.

If anyone smacked my child, I'd smack them (verbally, I hope!). GBH & all that. Having said this, I have resorted to smacking my dc myself - on the bottom, once - when pushed to the absolute limit. Don't agree with smacking (how can you justify smacking if you tell your kids that hitting is wrong?) but there are moments when you're at the end of your tether & smack! one on the bum, short, sharp shock & all that. Not proud of myself but feel that of all the harm I may or may not have done my dc, the odd smack on the bottom is probably the least serious.

Absolutely no.
Not sure blaming parents for troubled children's behaviour is very helpful either. They may need help just as much as their children. I work in a school with extremely troubled children (often violent) but I CHOOSE to work there. If I don't like it I can leave. I'm not going to complain about how hard it is and I get fed up with teachers doing this. The work is hard but if you feel you need to resort to being as infantile as the children can be (hitting out) to such an extent (rather than a fleeting moment) that you say corporal punishment is the way of helping these often already beaten children then clearly you are in the wrong job.

ra29 so if its not the parents and its not the teachers.. then who is to blame for kids who dont know right from wrong??

I just don't think blame is very helpful. The children are a product of their family primarily but their families are also a product of other systems- their own families, society, perhaps long legacies of hopelessness and deprivation. I'm not making excuses but just don't think it's as simple as blaming children, parents or teachers in isolation. If those children grow up hopeless and angry and pass that on- yes it's their fault in part but it's easy for us who haven't walked in their shoes to sit comfortably and judge. Changing these destructive cycles is incredibly difficult.
Our judgements although understandable make the problems worse. Child/family feels hateful/ threatened- acts aggressively- causes others to react negatively- child feels hateful and threatened and so the cycle goes on. IMO this is why some teachers are feeling like attacking these children but this will only make them feel more attacked and ultimately do more damage to actually some of societies most vulnerable.

Of course not.

my 10 year old came home from school in tears saying playground assistant pushed her face as my daughter h hit a girl the assistant said how do u like it 2 my daughter, child protection got involved and police and they called my daughter a liar as there was a teacher and another assistant gave statements saying she didnt do it my daughter and this women were alone now police have been round saying they r charging my daughter with wasting police time and called her a liar and got her crying. what can i do about this as i dont feel safe letting my kids attend this school