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Caring Teachers or Kinky Teachers? Corporal
Punishment in Public Schools.
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"Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod,
he shall not die. Thou shall beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul
from hell."
---- King Solomon, Proverbs 23:13--14.
"Corporal punishment is as humiliating for him who gives it as for him who
receives it; it is ineffective besides. Neither shame nor physical pain have any
other effect than a hardening one."
---- Ellen Key, Swedish writer, 1849--1926.
I was sitting in the teacher's room when I heard it. It was an unmistakable
sound. At first I didn't believe it. Or I didn't want to believe it. Then I
heard it again, and this time, there was an angry teacher yelling something in
Korean prior to this unmistakable sound and a muffled cry immediately following
it. The sound, first like a whistle, fast and furious, then the "thwack!" as
wooden paddle met butt cheeks.
I got up off my chair and tentatively stepped out of the teacher's room. My head
turned slowly toward the left and down at the floor. I saw two girls, perhaps
14, down on all fours, and a male Korean teacher standing directly behind them
with a wooden paddle. Again he yelled something in his native tongue, then,
"Thwack!", his wooden paddle met the girl's buttocks. The sound reverberated all
the way down the hall. I winced, but not as much as the girls I'm sure. One girl
took off her glasses to wipe her tear streaked face, only to be yelled at once
more. I turned around and went back into the teacher's room not knowing what to
do or think. This spectacle went on for another minute or two, then stopped as
suddenly as it had begun.
A week before, I saw something similar in the teacher's room. Two young teenage
boys were on their knees in front of another male teacher who chastised them
openly before boinking one of them pretty hard with his wooden stick, this time,
on the boy's head! That "boink" sound as wood met skull made the boy cry, but in
neither case did any of the other teachers come to the student's rescue. I have
no idea what any of these students were being punished for--- perhaps not
getting a good grade on a test, but I began to ask myself if corporal punishment
is really the answer to the question of how to best deal with these students.
Corporal punishment in public schools has a long and very dark history that
continues to this day. It is not necessarily an Asian phenomenon, nor is it
particular to any one country. In fact, we in the so called "progressive" and
"enlightened" West are still struggling with it ourselves. As I write, according
to the websites www.stophitting.com and www.repeal43.org, corporal punishment in
schools is still legal in 21 U.S states as of November 2005, and in certain
school districts in three Canadian provinces. Although corporal punishment was
officially banned in all British schools in 1998, teachers can still use
"reasonable force" in cases where students may cause harm to property and each
other. So we in the West have not solved the problem of child truancy either.
But since I'm currently teaching English at a public middle school in South
Korea, let's look at the problem here. And it's a pretty big problem. This from
the September 14, 2003 issue of the Korea Times, headlined, "7 in 10 Schools
Allow Corporal Punishment."
"According to the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
yesterday, 7,536 out of 10,381 schools across the country maintain an internal
regulation that empowers teachers to dispense corporal punishment."
In June of 2002, the Korean Ministry of Education did come up with "a specific
set of procedures" and guidelines for teachers in dealing with unruly students.
This from the June 28, 2002 issue of the Korea Herald, headlined, "New rules on
corporal punishment stoke controversy."
"The Education Ministry announced Wednesday revised regulations on corporal
punishment, which allows teachers to give high school students up to 10 whacks
using wooden sticks with a diameter less 1.5 cm and length less than 60cm. The
regulations will take place this fall.
Male students can be hit only on the buttocks and female students only on the
thighs, and the punishment cannot be meted out in the presence of other
students. Another teacher or school official, such as a vice principal or
guidance counselor, has to be present when the student is being punished. Those
facing corporal punishment have the right to ask for a different form of
discipline.
Elementary and middle school students can be struck with a wooden stick whose
diameter and length do not exceed 1 cm and 50 cm respectively. Elementary school
students can be hit up to five times, while middle school students up to 10
times."
Needless to say, just about everyone had an opinion on this. And many teachers,
students, and parents posted numerous complaints about these new guidelines. A
spokesman for the Korean Federation of Teachers Associations (KFTA) called some
of the measures "unreasonable and vague." A high school student asked, "Is it
possible to report these teachers after we get thumped?" Another teacher called
these guidelines, "the most deplorable measure devised by bureaucrats", while
another lamented the fact that "the authority of teachers has already
diminished" and now teachers "have to measure the length of the rod to punish
students." (Yes, I do realize how perverted that sounds.)
When are students beaten? This question was answered by Yoon Ji-hi, a writer for
Seoul's Joong Ang Daily on September 26, 2003.
"Students are beaten when they are late for school, fight with friends, run
around the playground in slippers, do not eat their school meals, fail to bring
the required materials for a class, or when their grades fall. Are all of these
really reasons for children to be hit? If so, no one in the world could avoid a
beating. Then, why can children be hit? Is beating guaranteed by law?"
What do Korean parents think of their kids being whacked in school? Are they for
it? Do they see a problem? Well, in a "national telephone survey of 1,272
people, 91.8% of mothers and 82.9% of fathers approved of corporal punishment of
children."
(Kim, Y.J. 1998. "A study of correlations between attitudes about domestic
violence and violent behaviors." Korean Family Welfare Studies, vol. 2, pp,
87-114, cited in Doe, S.J., 2000, "Cultural factors in child maltreatment and
domestic violence in Korea", Children and Youth Services Review; vol. 22, nos.
3/4, pp. 231-236.)
How about the students themselves? Are they all for being whacked by their
teachers? Do they see a problem? "In a nationwide survey of 3,228 students
conducted by the Korean Federation of Teachers Association (KFTA) in April 2003,
70% said that corporal punishment given by their teachers was fair, but it
should be limited to severe cases of insubordination. Students said teachers
should not abuse the right to punish students."
("Students cite slip in respect for teachers", Joong Ang Daily, Seoul, May 14,
2003.)
According to these studies and surveys, neither the majority of teachers,
parents, nor students are against corporal punishment in school. In fact, an
overwhelming majority are for it and see very little, if anything wrong with it,
as long as it is meted out "fairly." Fairly? Who's to say what's fair? Teachers?
Students? The government? And what happens when a brave and courageous parent
doesn't want their child beaten by a teacher? Does this brave and courageous
parent get treated fairly? Not if you're Lim Ke-Sook.
In a story by the Associated Press and printed in the New York Times on February
4, 1999 under the headline, "South Korea Doesn't Spare the Rod", Mrs Lim's 12
year old daughter Hee-Soon "nearly lost the sight in her right eye after a
science teacher threw a textbook at her." Mrs. Lim went to the authorities and
had the teacher charged with battery. What happened to her and little Hee-Soon
as a result of this?
Hee-Soon's classmates threw rocks at her house, as well as "overturned her
school locker and refused to play with her. Then hundreds of parents and
teachers signed a petition defending the teacher. The teacher did not mean to
hurt young Hee-Soon, the petitioners told the prosecutor ---- only to discipline
her."
" 'Educational motives' drove him to throw the book at Hee-Soon to stop her from
chatting with a classmate while he was handing out homework, the petition said."
Corporal punishment remains prevalent in schools because the support for
corporal punishment remains widespread in South Korea. From the same article in
the New York Times:
"My teacher always carried a knobby bamboo root," says Lee Ki-myoung, a 33 year
old father of two. "Whenever we broke the rules, the stick would come out. It
whistled through the air and it stung. He hit you if you were late, if you had a
runny nose, if you pushed or shoved in line, if you couldn't add or subtract.
Now I know he was right. He was a shepherd guiding 50, 60 wayward kids ALL BY
HIMSELF." (Emphasis mine.)
All by himself? Now here's a big part of the problem, especially in South Korea.
Parents here send their kids to school not only expecting, but also demanding
that teachers raise their children for them. It's not enough that teachers have
to teach reading, math, and science. They also have to teach kids how to stand
in line; how to wipe their runny nose; what clothes to wear; and the proper way
to eat rice and vegetables.
Excuse me, but isn't that the parents job? I can understand a 14 year old who
has trouble adding and subtracting. But a 10, 12, or 14 year old who doesn't
know how to properly stand in line, or wipe their nose, or eat their vegetables,
or even how to flush a toilet? How did that happen?
I've always said that there is no such thing as bad kids, only bad parents. Or
bad parenting. Of course that's a slight exaggeration. There is such a thing as
bad kids. But let's put the blame exactly where it belongs. Bad kids are a
result of bad parenting. Parents who have not taken their responsibility to
raise bright, healthy, and well-adjusted children.
For those who believe in the "It takes a village" philosophy, let me suggest
that it is this strange and ridiculous concept that has led to the sheer lunacy
that we now see in Korean schools and other schools across the globe. Teachers
across the world are already overburdened and underpaid for the work that they
do. Expecting them to raise other people's children on top of that may be the
primary reason why corporal punishment is still as prevalent as it is. It
doesn't take a village to raise a child. It takes a family; two loving and
dedicated parents who are committed to properly raising the children that they
themselves brought into this world.
If a parent came to me as a teacher and said that it's okay to "discipline"
their child, I would have a few choice words for that parent. "Listen," I'd
begin. "Need I remind you that this is YOUR child we're talking about. YOUR
child did not pass through my loins. You were the one who helped to make that
child, so you raise him. My job is to teach him, not raise him. If you do not
want to raise your own child, the child that you brought into this world, then
next time think twice before pulling down your pants and making a baby!"
Of course parents should always have the right to spank and discipline their
children as they see fit, as long as the discipline does not turn into abuse.
And I believe that just about all parents know the line between discipline and
abuse. For the vast majority of us, it's a very clear and distinct line. But
teachers should NEVER physically strike a student. Plain and simply, it's just
not our role as educators. Nor should it ever be. Education and physical
punishment just doesn't mix.
Has the perception or the reality of corporal punishment in South Korean society
changed in the seven years since the Hee-Soon Lim incident? Well, maybe. Let's
look at an article published just last month in the Korea Times under the
headline, "Teachers Suffer Violence From Students, Parents." (May 24, 2006.)
According to this news story, a Korean teacher at an elementary school recently
instructed her students to "eat lunch in only 15 minutes and hand in a written
assignment if they did not follow the directions." For her "crime", this teacher
was made to kneel in front of the students' parents for what they considered
"educationally improper action." Other recent incidents from the same story
include:
---- A middle school student identified as "Kim" knocked down his teacher during
homeroom and kicked her several times shouting, "End the meeting quickly," when
the class was held over. He then hit other students before running away.
---- A newly hired art teacher was attacked by a middle school student during a
test. The student destroyed art work and shouted at the teacher in Korean, "How
can a rookie make such a difficult test for students! It the teacher continues
this, I will stamp on the art."
According to the KFTA, there were 52 abusive incidents against teachers in 2005,
up 30 percent from the 40 cases the previous year. There were 32 in 2003 and 12
in 2001. But the teacher's association says that the actual figure may be quite
higher. It is also interesting that that the student to teacher incidents have
been slowly but steadily rising at the same time that the new rules against
teacher to student corporal punishment supposedly came into effect. Although
there is no evidence that these student to teacher incidents are becoming an
epidemic, it is strangely reminiscent of the madness that was Chairman Mao's
cultural revolution where children and students joined the Red Guards, turned in
their own parents for not towing the party line, beat their teachers, and forced
them to wear dunce caps while publicly denouncing them by shouting propaganda
slogans. While it is highly unlikely that this will happen here anytime soon,
these kind of instincts must be kept in check for the sake of social stability,
and the perpetuation of educational integrity and individual dignity.
While I'm sure that there are many people out there who will blame "Western
society, movies and music videos" for this sudden change in behaviour, those who
do so will have missed several points. First, there hasn't been a change in
behaviour. Whether it's teachers hitting students or students hitting teachers,
the behaviour is the same. It's brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized, and should
not be tolerated on either side. Second, Korean society, as well as most Asian
societies, are hierarchical in structure. And Korean society is still Confucian
in many ways. That the young must listen to their elders and follow them blindly
is a social given. "You reap what you sow" and "What goes around, comes around"
may be familiar to us Westerners, but they are foreign notions to Koreans and
other Asians. Yes, shit certainly rolls downhill. And when it comes to Korea and
many other Asian nations, there are a lot of hills and a lot of shit. Third,
let's look at this comment from Kim Ahn-jung, an education professor at Seoul
National University:
"It is inevitable that teachers see their rights weakened due to the rapid
changes in society. To restore the falling trust, teachers should improve their
skills and competitiveness and strengthen their teaching leadership."
On the surface, I agree. Of course teachers should improve their skills and
competitiveness and strengthen their leadership. But then again, so should
doctors and lawyers, and accountants, and pilots, and just about everyone else
who has a job. Where Professor Kim goes wrong is that he ties this in with the
current reality of students attacking teachers. His quote was from the same
Korea Times story on May 24, 2006. If we accept the fact that it is just as bad
and immoral for students to attack teachers as it is for teachers to attack
students, then there is no connection between the improvement of a teachers
skills and competitiveness and the frequency of teachers being attacked.
Regardless of how poor the teacher's skills are, it neither justifies, nor does
it ever excuse a student from attacking a teacher.
Forth, what in the world were 10 parents doing forcing a teacher to kneel down
in front of them? What were they thinking? The sheer humiliation of this seems
far worse than any paddle across the buttocks. Remember what happened in 1999 to
Lim Ki-Sook and her daughter Hee-Soon? Is going to the other extreme the answer?
Do the elementary school students, who know of the humiliation their teacher
faced, fully understand the consequences of this action? Doesn't public
humiliation beget more public humiliation? Where will it end? Or will it ever
end? A more appropriate "punishment" for this teacher would have been for the
Principal to sit down with her in private and give her a warning. Odds are it
would have worked and saved many people a whole lot of pain and embarrassment.
And fifth, although Professor Kim's message of teachers improving their skills,
competitiveness, and leadership is always a good idea, it seems to put the blame
for these student to teacher incidents on the teachers themselves. It also puts
a major part of the onus and responsibility for changing the situation squarely
on the shoulders of teachers, relegating the parents to a secondary or tertiary
position when it comes to teaching children right from wrong. To reiterate my
position, I am not against parents disciplining their children as they deem fit.
Bad parenting results in bad children. Parents, and parents alone, are
responsible for the raising of their own children so that we as teachers can
concentrate on what we do--- teach.
In a column on corporal punishment for the Korea Times on August 17, 2005,
Heather Fairclough-Lee, a Native New Zealander, writes, "In New Zealand it is
reported by confidential sources that the Korean kids are the least co-operative
in class, the rudest and most unruly. The absence of corporal punishment must be
like some sort of trip to Disneyland topped with a more relaxed approach to
study."
I know what she means. I've been teaching in South Korea on and off for years.
While working on this column in a neighbourhood internet cafe, I now have the
"pleasure" of sitting next to a Korean "gentleman" who has spent most of his
time here playing computer games, barking out orders to be served food, smoking,
belching, spitting in the ashtray, and, on occasion, openly scratching his
genitals. This is not the first time I've been treated to such a show. This is a
"monkey see, monkey do" society, and little monkeys only mimic what big monkeys
do.
Another aspect of corporal punishment is the unintended consequence of premature
sexual behaviour, especially, what is referred to by Western mental health
practitioners as "deviant sexual behaviour." The internet as well as
psychoanalytic journals are replete with articles and information on this
subject, so I will not delve too deeply into it here. Suffice to say that just
about all of the information out there on this subject comes to the conclusion
that spanking a child--- especially on the buttocks with a wooden paddle--- can,
and often does, lead to some form of sexual deviant behaviour in that child
later in life. This is common sense as far as I'm concerned. A shrink's office
is full of people who were abused as children.
I can't help but think back to those students who were whacked on the buttocks
and boinked on the head with wooden paddles. There is something sick and
perverted, in fact, brazenly perverted and kinky about a middle-aged man holding
a wooden paddle standing behind a young teenage girl who is on all fours, her
skirt slightly raised to reveal her white laced panties, while this middle-aged
man swats her on her derriere. It says a lot about a society that allows this to
happen. It says a lot about the person holding the paddle. In fact, it says much
more about the person doing the whacking than it does about the person being
whacked. Changing the middle-aged man for a middle-aged woman won't help. This
kind of perversion permeates society like a plague, unable to differentiate
between race, gender, or religion.
Edward L Vockell, a professor of education at Purdue University, defines
corporal punishment as the infliction of a physical reprimand in the hopes of
stopping an undesirable behaviour. Sounds like a good definition. This is why
the vast majority of people use corporal punishment; to stop undesirable
behaviour. But in attempting to stop undesirable behaviour, are we inadvertently
but clearly creating other undesirable behaviours that will be exhibited by the
very same people that we are attempting to discipline? In other words, in
attempting to discipline children through corporal punishment, are we simply
helping to create more weirdos, sickos, and perverts who will seek their revenge
on their own spouses and children?
Korea, like many other societies and nations, has yet to come to terms with it's
own violent behaviour. Indeed, the whole world seems not to have the slightest
inkling of what to do with disruptive and unruly children other than beat them
with sticks and other blunt instruments. This is obviously a huge problem the
world over. What is needed are debates on this issue on both a national and
international level. Dialogue, discussion, and debates are good things. They get
everything out into the open where they belong so that we as people and as
individual nations can not only come to terms with what is happening, but also
come to a consensus about what should be done to solve this very serious
problem.
I currently teach in a public middle school where 40 boys and girls in a class
is the norm. If students don't do their work or misbehave, I give them a
warning. If they continue on this path, I sent them out of the room so that they
can do their work in the hall. I don't hit the students, nor do I want to. But
they must realize that they are in class to behave themselves, learn English,
and have some fun in the process. When some of them don't do the work in class,
I have been know to keep them after class so that they can continue with the
work they didn't do. There are times when I feel terrible disciplining them this
way. But for the sake of education and classroom harmony, this needs to be done.
So far this seems to be working, and my Korean co-teachers are quite helpful in
this regard.
These seem to be viable alternatives to corporal punishment. When I went to
school, we had detention. Keeping undisciplined students after school to do
extra work is a much better form of punishment. This could be a problem in
Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and other places where most kids go to hagwons, bushibans,
and other private schools in the late afternoon and early evening. To this, I
say, too bad. If children misbehave or don't do the work assigned to them, keep
them after school. Throw the ball back into the parent's court. Taking away the
children's play time, (if there is children's play time), and other privileges
is another alternative to corporal punishment. And just recently I saw a both a
male and female student on their hands and knees washing the floors of the
hallway with a small towel. This punishment, for misbehaving in class.
These alternatives, and others, must be explored and practiced on a wide level
if schools are to produce smart, intelligent, better behaved, and well-balanced
students. It also must be practiced in conjunction with parents and the
community at large. On this very important issue, everyone must be on the same
page. I fear that as time goes on, the longer I stay in places like Korea, I
will no longer cringe or wince at a child or a teenager being beaten or whacked
by a large piece of wood. This would be truly unfortunate, because with each
whack on the buttocks; with each boink on the head, we are steadily and surely
losing our humanity and killing the future.
Steve Schertzer, esl_steve@excite.com
June 1, 2006.
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