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VII. Best Practices in School Discipline

Corporal punishment should be abolished not only because it causes pain, injury, humiliation, and anger, and not only because it is contrary to international law and evolving US standards. It should be abolished because it is an ineffective form of school discipline. Better, proven methods of discipline are available.

Best practices for school discipline, as discussed below, focus on creating inclusive, consistent school cultures in which misbehavior has clear and immediate consequences but students are valued and respected. By using corporal punishment, educators debase the school culture, emphasizing humiliation of students and use of violence above positive, reinforcing discipline.

Positive Disciplinary Approaches

There are many alternatives to corporal punishment that respond better to students’ educational and psychological needs.²⁷¹ With today’s educators facing increasing pressure to improve student achievement and reduce drop-out rates,²⁷² the creation of nurturing school environments in which students can meet and exceed academic targets is a critically important issue.

The National Education Association opposes corporal punishment in schools, recommending instead disciplinary procedures that “enhance high expectations and quality instruction, thereby promoting self-control and responsible behavior in students.”²⁷³ A government study conducted in the United Kingdom shortly after corporal punishment was banned found little evidence that corporal punishment was an effective deterrent, and concluded that “[t]he best way to encourage good standards of behavior in a school is a clear code of conduct backed by a combination of rewards and punishments within a positive community atmosphere.”²⁷⁴ Even traditional methods such as detention of children (in classrooms or study halls, for example) or removal of privileges are preferable to corporal punishment in respecting students’ rights and responding effectively to discipline problems.

Nationwide, educators are moving toward positive discipline practices—those that respond to the underlying reasons for the child’s misbehavior, and are consistent with the school’s mission of education²⁷⁵—as a way of creating effective school cultures.²⁷⁶ Within this structured environment, children can learn to change their behavior and return to class ready to learn.²⁷⁷

In 2000, the US Department of Education and US Department of Justice produced a joint guide on school discipline and school safety, aimed at addressing “violence and other troubling behaviors in schools.”²⁷⁸ The guide, which is supported by numerous national educational organizations including the American Federation of Teachers,²⁷⁹ endorses Positive Behavior Support (PBS) systems as a way of providing “a social and physical environment that fosters appropriate behavior.”²⁸⁰ Critical components include establishing school-wide behavioral expectations, creating incentives for appropriate behavior, and ensuring that there are consequences for inappropriate behavior.²⁸¹ Responses to misbehavior include: “An explanation of why the behavior is a problem, an explanation of which rule was violated, and the provision of opportunities to learn appropriate behaviors and to correct mistakes.”²⁸² An administrator at a new school in a high-poverty area observed that in his personal experience, incorporating school discipline as an integral part of the school’s mission statement is very effective: “It’s always good practice to be clear with the kids as to what the rules of the class are, and how they will be rewarded or punished.”²⁸³

In 46 states around the US, there are schools currently using the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) model, implementing three levels of positive behavior supports:²⁸⁴

• Universal: rules, routines, and physical arrangements for all students developed to prevent initial problem behavior;
• Secondary: small group or individual responses for students at risk of problem behaviors, such as mentoring programs and staff support teams for students; and
• Tertiary: more intensive interventions tailored to meet the specific needs of individual students with patterns of problem behaviors.

Formal evaluations of School-Wide PBS have found significant reductions in discipline referrals to the principal’s office and increased satisfaction among teachers because they feel more effective in their teaching and management of student behavior.²⁸⁵ Furthermore, studies in Illinois have shown that School-Wide PBS can also improve the academic performance and test scores of students.²⁸⁶

A Harvard University study in 2000 concluded that schools can implement a wide range of programs to bring about positive discipline models, “including peer courts, conflict resolution programs, early interventions, mentoring, mediations, and character education programs that promote a mutually respectful and collaborative school climate and teach students and teachers how to handle and resolve conflict in appropriate ways.”²⁸⁷

One high-poverty elementary school in Chicago, for example, was able to drastically reduce its suspension rate and increase its attendance and reading achievements after incorporating positive discipline.²⁸⁸ The school posts a clear series of rules and consequences around the school, and a copy must be signed by parents, who are encouraged to become an integral part of the school culture. Supervised study halls are used in place of almost all out-of-school suspension. This is just one of many examples of how positive discipline can help students succeed. These methods can also be successful in rural schools with mentoring, school-wide commitment, and professional development for teachers.²⁸⁹

Educational experts have also turned to positive discipline models as a way of redressing racial and special education disparities in school discipline. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) encourages the use of positive behavior support systems to respond better to the needs of students with disabilities.²⁹⁰

Likewise, positive behavior support systems can respond to racial disparities. A Justice Matters Institute report from the year 2000 on preventing racial bias in school discipline observes that effective schools, “rather than striving to shape students’ behavior solely through a discipline policy … create a community based on the mission or guiding principles, shaping the larger context of relationships which, in turn, influence student behavior.”²⁹¹ Again, discipline and school culture are seen as integral in effective schools: “This comprehensive approach proves far more effective than relying on a discipline policy alone to guide student behavior.”²⁹²

Corporal punishment has no place in these positive discipline structures. When the Jackson, Mississippi, public schools banned corporal punishment in 1990, the school board’s decision was “intended to maintain a sound, productive, healthy and safe environment in the schools.”²⁹³ School districts need to follow Jackson’s lead by discarding corporal punishment and embracing positive discipline methods, and Jackson must continue to present itself as a leader on this issue.

Educators’ Views on Corporal Punishment

Many educators we spoke with said that corporal punishment is ineffective in addressing students’ underlying misbehavior.²⁹⁴ A middle school teacher stated, “I’ve seen its ineffectiveness—the immediate impact is to get that student to stop that behavior but there is no guarantee that it [won’t] continue.”²⁹⁵ A superintendent in Mississippi believes it is pointless: “You administer corporal punishment, it’s over in two minutes. Children, depending on their age, have a very short memory.”²⁹⁶ A former principal and assistant superintendent noted that corporal punishment “is not a cure-all, it’s like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.”²⁹⁷

Educators we spoke with believe that some students become immune to paddling. A former high school teacher in a school that used corporal punishment regularly felt the practice became like “water off the duck’s back for the kids.”²⁹⁸ Another teacher said that “kids who get whupped a lot, they stop responding relatively quickly…. It doesn’t address their core issues.”²⁹⁹ An eleventh-grade boy added that “[s]o many kids are so used to getting paddled that it really don’t faze them at all.”³⁰⁰

Some educators support corporal punishment in schools, even though research demonstrates that it is ineffective in addressing student misbehavior. One teacher pointed out that corporal punishment can be considered “cost-effective. It’s free, basically. You don’t have to be organized. All you need is a paddle.”³⁰¹ Some parents and teachers think corporal punishment is preferable to keeping children out of class and letting them fall further behind in their studies.³⁰² Others believe that corporal punishment “in moderation” is not harmful, especially if the educator believes the punishment will benefit the child.³⁰³ The Greenville Public School District (Mississippi), in answering a Human Rights Watch survey, stated that corporal punishment can help the school environment because it is immediate, but can also damage the environment as students become accustomed to negative reinforcement.³⁰⁴

Some proponents of corporal punishment argue that the Old Testament references to “spare the rod, spoil the child” give support for corporal punishment.³⁰⁵ Yet, many religious leaders disagree, including Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu who responds, “Violence begets violence, and [through corporal punishment] we shall reap a whirlwind. Children can be disciplined without violence that instills fear and misery, and I look forward to church communities working in solidarity with others … towards ending all forms of violence against children.”³⁰⁶ The United Methodist Church is one major US denomination that condemns corporal punishment, arguing that “it is difficult to imagine Jesus of Nazareth condoning any action that is intended to hurt children physically or psychologically.”³⁰⁷

Corporal punishment also negates a child’s capacity to respond to reason. The Society for Adolescent Medicine argues that corporal punishment may respond more to the teacher’s needs than to the child’s, and is likely to be administered under conditions of emotional distress on the part of the teacher (triggered by the misbehavior of the child).³⁰⁸ Corporal punishment may make the teacher “feel better,” and that may serve as a principal justification for using the technique.³⁰⁹ Self-control on the part of the teacher and strategies to reason with students would be more effective and beneficial. One recent high school graduate argued that reason would work better for older students: “It’s not fair, getting licks. There are other ways to discipline children besides hitting them…. My brain is in my head, not in my butt.”³¹⁰

In some school districts in Mississippi, logistical or financial obstacles prevented the use of after-school detention as an alternative punishment, thereby increasing the use of corporal punishment. One 18-year-old who was critical of the corporal punishment regime in his rural school district stated that “we couldn’t have after-school detention. There was no busing. Kids who got detention would have to find another way home.”³¹¹ A teacher noted that corporal punishment was used heavily at her school, and teachers had few alternatives: “There was no ISS or anything. We had lunch duty so we couldn’t bring them in during lunch.”³¹² Mr. G., as a new teacher, tried to institute detention at his Mississippi middle school:

I knew that I was not going to paddle, so in the first year, I asked my principal if I could hold after-school detention … it did not work at all. Parents had to come get their own kids—there was no bus so you had parents who objected. They would say, “I’m not picking them up, I’m not taking off work, I’m not using the gas.”³¹³

Positive behavior support systems, as well as other more traditional methods, can be effective alternatives to corporal punishment. The superintendent of a major Mississippi school district noted that "[c]hildren will correct themselves if you engage in positive reinforcement.”³¹⁴ Mr. G. believes that with the right resources, his school could find effective alternatives to corporal punishment.³¹⁵