BY BERNIE MIXON and JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NORTH COLLEGE HILL -- The first in a series of public meetings on bringing back corporal punishment in North College Hill schools turned into a running debate Tuesday night about the district's overall discipline problems.
"I think, overall, the opinion of the group is they don't want corporal punishment," said Jean Parmenter, a board of education member and co-chairman of the district's Secondary Local Discipline Task Force, which is holding the hearings.
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YOUR CALL
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North College Hill is pondering the return of corporal punishment in the schools. What do you think about this form of discipline? Emali your thoughts to us at gnoble@enquirer.com or fax 860-5190 or call 381-2800, extension 2005. Include name and phone number. Deadline is noon Thursday. |
About 50 people, mostly parents, packed the library at Becker Elementary School for Tuesday's first hearing. Nearly all of them appeared to be against bringing back corporal punishment, but many of them also had something to say about discipline.
"Society's problems are spilling into schools," said Olivia Day, a member of the task force. "The North College Hill community is changing and the school district is not keeping up with that change. "We have children in this school who were crack babies," she said. "I don't think swatting (them) will solve the problems with these children."
The problem is a lack of parental responsibility, she said. Many parents said they opposed corporal punishment, but realized the district has a discipline problem.'
Only one person spoke in favor of corporal punishment.
"Even though we are changing, the kids need punishment," said Loria Helton, who said she has a paddle at home. "The kids have taken over."
Many child advocates say corporal punishment is a step backward. "We don't want it back," said Nadine Block, director of the Center for Effective Discipline in Columbus, Ohio. "We'd like to get it out of all the schools in Ohio."
Education professor Patricia O'Reilly, a developmental psychologist at the University of Cincinnati, said parents are abdicating their responsibilities.
"Hitting them is not the solution for helping them to learn to be in control of their behavior," she said.
In a statement on punitive measures, UC professor Lawrence Johnson, director of the Artlitt Child Development Center, said a crack on the rear end can send the wrong message to a child.
"You mistakenly teach the child that, if you have control over something, it is OK to be violent. The child may learn that violence is a reasonable solution to a conflict."
Nationwide, 21 states allow for the local education authority to establish discipline policies that may include corporal punishment, according to The Education Commission of the States. In 22 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, use of corporal punishment in public schools is banned. In seven states and the Virgin Islands, corporal punishment is permitted, but must adhere to state and local policies and guidelines.
Under legislation that took effect Sept. 1, 1994, corporal punishment was abolished in all Ohio public school districts unless a district appointed a local discipline task force and followed its recommendation for its use.
In 1993, North College Hill banned corporal punishment. Under state law, districts that banned it can reinstate it as of Sept. 1 this year.
Additional task force meetings will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the gym in Clovernook Elementary School, 1398 W. Galbraith Road, and at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in the library at Becker Elementary School, 6525 Simpson Ave.
A final meeting will be 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the gym at Clovernook Elementary, where its expected the task force will determine what recommendation to make to the board of education.
