If you haven’t already, be sure to read Education Week’s package of stories and original research on corporal punishment in public schools. Using the most recent federal data, Assistant Editor Sarah D. Sparks worked with our research center to explore trends in the use of discipline methods like paddling. While use of corporal punishment has declined nationwide, schools in 21 states still practiced it in 2013-14, the data show.
“Corporal punishment is an immediate consequence to an action, and there’s no down time. ... It’s really pretty effective,” Camille Wright, a superintendent in Enterprise, Ala., told Sparks.
Others disagree with the practice, saying it is harmful to children and not appropriate in an educational environment.
Check out Sparks’ appearance on C-SPAN along with Christopher B. Swanson, our vice president for research and development (top) and a piece Education Week that produced for PBS NewsHour below.