Corporal Punishment In Schools: What Does The Past Teach Us

Corporal Punishment In American Schools In The 1960s

I've been asked about bringing back harsher physical punishment in schools since the level of violence in American schools is higher than ever. So let's look at what corporal punishment is and what its purposes are. Let's also look at a few incidents in schools in the 1800s to see if they teach us anything.

Let's understand that "corporal punishment" is a form of physical punishment that involves causing pain or discomfort to correct or punish someone's behavior. How long has it been in existence? Well, it's been around so long that it predates the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, the nailing of Christ to the cross was a form of corporal punishment and capital punishment, used by the Romans. It was a way of showing others what physical punishment awaited them if rules weren't followed. 

Judicial corporal punishment, such as whipping or caning, as part of a criminal sentence ordered by a court of law, has been around for centuries. And yes, it is still practiced in some countries. Prison corporal punishment has always been considered disciplinary punishment. In the old days, it's what took place when prison authorities directed their officers to beat inmates for misconduct while in custody. And yes, some countries still practice such things. 

Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 7, Number 1048, 3 August 1854

WHIPPING — The Placer Democrat newspaper says that a youth of 20 summers, convicted of petit larceny, on two distinct indictments, was sentenced for the first offense to be imprisoned in the County Jail for thirty days, and for the second to receive twenty-five lashes on his bare back. On Friday, the sentence of the Court was carried into execution in the presence of a crowd of spectators.

Corporal punishment in the military was routinely handed out for many centuries. Canning, whipping, and floggings at the mast aboard ships were commonplace even into the 1930s. Some say it went on past that. 

And yes, in case you're wondering, Slave Owners practiced corporal punishment on the slaves for things like not working hard enough, stealing, trying to escape, and violating their rules. Slave-owning nations in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, including in China's work camps still practice such things. 

Corporal punishment in schools with students receiving paddlings by teachers and school administrators still goes on today in America, but nothing like it once was. Back when I was a kid, I remember being in the First and Second Grades and attending a Catholic school, the Nuns would hit us with yardsticks and pointers. If we misbehaved, the Nun, our teacher, would do it herself or send us to Mother Superior, the principal.

I still remember being in the First Grade and being frightened about being sent to Mother Superior who would pull up my shirt and have me bent forward, then she gave me 10 whacks with a yardstick across my lower back. 

I also remember later in the 7th Grade when I was attending a Public school, being sent to the vice principal's office. He used a paddle on me and actually hit me so hard that he broke the paddle in three pieces. For me, all it did was make me hate going to school. And yes, it seemed as though I was always being sent to the principal's office. For a long time, I started to feel like I had a target on me for every teacher who was having a bad day. 

In the case of children or teenagers in schools in America receiving corporal punishment, spanking a student, slapping them, hitting them with a belt, stick, cane, or a yardstick, some schools actually made youngsters kneel facing a corner or wall for long periods, made students eat soap, and of course shaming the student in front of the whole class, were all commonplace throughout America for many years. In some cases where communities had small schools, teachers would beat and shame students in front of the whole school. 

Please understand, that the purpose of corporal punishment is to stop unwanted behavior, stop it from happening again, instill fear and intimidation into the minds of all, assert power, and use the punishment as an example to others. 

I can still remember the looks on the faces of the other students and even the satisfaction on at least one teacher's face when I returned from a principal's office hurting after being whipped with a belt or after being paddled. 

Corporal punishment solved some problems because it certainly did change someone's behavior. In societies, the fear of corporal punishment kept many citizens in line. In jails and prisons, it served as intimidation to keep the inmates in line. In the military, it served as intimidation to keep soldiers, sailors, and Marines in line. In schools, it served as intimidation to keep students in line. In all those cases, physical punishment was a great persuader to make people do what those in authority wanted. 

As for changing someone's behavior, or creating fear in students, trust me when I say that it changed my behavior when I was a little kid attending a Catholic school. As a kid, I became terrified of teachers.    

Some say corporal punishment, such as paddling, wouldn't be bad in our schools today. With all of the violence in our schools today, many believe that bringing back some "consequences" to one's poor behavior wouldn't be bad. Of course, as is the case today, many worry about returning to the days of child abuse in schools. 

So what do we do about the violence taking place in schools today? Would bringing back more physical punishment remedy the situation or worsen it? Let's look at a few newspaper stories from the 1800s and the two news stories I chose to represent the opening of the 1900s. 

American students, both small children and teens, were taken to task pretty regularly. But as you will see below, violence in schools may not have been as widespread as it is today, but it was present -- and came from students and teachers. Imagine that.

The Daily Dispatch, August 16, 1856:

School Master Murdered

An atrocious murder has just been committed in Florence, Alabama. A correspondent of the Mobile Morning Herald thus furnishes the particulars: A schoolmaster had a tame sparrow of which he was very fond, and he had warned his scholars that if any of them killed it, they should die by his hands. 

By accident, or intentionally, one of the boys stepped on the bird and killed it. Alarmed at the threats of the master, the boy was afraid to return to school, but the master tranquilized the boy's mind, and begged him to come back. He did so, and after the lessons were finished, he took him into a private room and strangled him. 

Upon the boy's father hearing what had occurred, he loaded his gun and went and shot the schoolmaster dead.

The Cleveland Tri-Weekly Leader, February 06, 1864:

Murder In Ashland County

The Ashland Times of this week, states that a young man named Alfred Desem was shot at Pyfer's School House, near Ashland, by George W. Longfelt, and killed instantly. The murderer was the school teacher of the district, and still at large, having left immediately on the commission of the deed. 

No particulars are given as to why the teacher shot his student. His parents reside in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He is described as about five feet six inches high, weighing about one hundred and sixty
pounds, with dark curly hair, and black eyes, about nineteen years old. He has a hat and cap with him, and wears a grey shawl. 

George W. Longfelt, the school teacher of the Pyfer's School House, killed student Alfred Desem and fled.

Nebraska Advertiser, February 26, 1874:

One day this week a school teacher, called Prof. Hayes, near Agency, Missouri, was shot three times in the abdomen, and fatally injured, by one of his pupils, a young man of about twenty years, named Thomas Squires. Squires had been ejected from the schoolroom for disobedience, when, a day or two
afterward, meeting Prof. Hayes some distance from the schoolhouse, he shot him without warning.

Daily Evening Bulletin, December 22, 1881:

Charles J Gregory a school teacher in Shelby County, Indiana, shot at a pupil because he refused to write on a slate. The bullet missed the boy but his face was filled with powder. The teacher was arrested and great excitement prevailed.

The New York Times, June 12, 1887:

In Cleveland, Tennessee, excitement over the shooting of Miss Irene Fann by Will Guess. It was first believed that Guess playfully turned his rifle on Fann and it accidentally went off. But now it is believed he shot the teacher for whipping his little sister in class over an infraction of the rules of the school. A case of cold-blooded murder.

The New York Times, February 28, 1903:

Boy Shot by Teacher is Dead

On February 24, 1903, in Inman, South Carolina. Edward Foster, a 17-year-old student at Inman High School, was fatally wounded by his teacher Reuben Pitts after jerking a rod from Pitts' hands to avoid punishment. It is reported that several students attacked Pitts while he was whipping Foster. During the scuffle to try to stop the teacher from whipping Foster, Pitts drew a pistol and shot 17-year-old Edward Foster dead. The story of the teacher does not agree with what the students reported. According to the teacher, Foster struck the pistol that Pitts had drawn and caused it to fire. Pitts was acquitted of murder on grounds of self-defense.

Los Angeles Herald, September 12, 1909:

TEACHER SLAYS PUPIL WHO WOULD RUN SCHOOL

Bully Who Told Pedagogue Session Must Cease Is Shot and Killed by the Master

In Gravette, Arkansas, on September 11, John Bufram, a pupil, was slain yesterday by his teacher, A. T. Kelly, at the edge of McDonald County, Missouri. Butram had caused the teachers of the Bear Hollow school considerable trouble and had succeeded in thrashing two of them. When Kelly took the school he "went prepared." 

Young Butram is said to have announced there would be no school yesterday, and Kelly insisted the session would continue as usual. During the discussion, Butram drew a knife, whereupon Kelly shot him. Kelly surrendered to authorities.

-- end of news articles.

So now, can you image a student, a bully, demanding that a school shut down operations because he said so? And really, can anyone blame the schoolmaster for arming himself? Not me. I stand behind what that teacher did. He did right.

Also, can you imagine a teacher in the previous news story? He tried to "whip" a student, but then the other students tried to stop the teacher. Then the teacher pulls a handgun and shoots the student he was trying to discipline. Then the teacher is acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defense? Can you imagine if that were to happen today? Can you imagine if teachers felt so compelled to beat a student that the teacher created chaos in the classroom? I can't help but wonder how that would go over today.

So, is there something other than physical punishment as an option for creating a safe place where students learn to respect others -- especially those in authority? What can we do about teaching young people that there are consequences for bad behavior? And by the way, how about we start teaching what bad behavior is? Let's define it in schools so there's no question what people are being asked to do. 

Let's be honest here, some schools refuse to teach manners and civility. Some only teach what is offensive to their political agenda. That's especially true in ultra-Liberal states where disdain for authority is encouraged. Yes, I said encouraged. If you don't think so, ask yourself what the whole "Defund the Police" movement is all about. 

Sadly, some states push Leftist agendas which teach students that conforming with generally accepted standards of respectable and morally right behavior is bad and not necessary.  

So while much of the focus is on how to discipline students as it should be, let's also remember that unbridled power in the hands of teachers can lead to an abuse of power. And please don't kid yourself, there are a lot of examples of teachers abusing their power in the classroom. They are in the news almost every day.

While school violence is a huge problem, today we see another problem with what's taking place in schools across America -- teachers indoctrinating students with their Leftist ideology instead of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Which, by the way, as test scores are showing, American students are failing.

And really, besides the drug and violence in Public schools today, teachers indoctrinating students with their Leftist ideology is why Homeschools are becoming so popular. Parents don't want their children indoctrinated by political activists who happen to be in the position of teachers. Let's also recognize that parents are fighting teachers and local boards over what their kids should not be getting in schools. 

Many parents today don't like that their kids are being deluged by a Leftist agenda that focuses on sexual orientation concerns instead of focusing on a student's scholastic achievement. Parents are rightfully concerned that their kids aren't measuring up and aren't getting what they need before graduating. Leftist teachers negatively impact a student's potential. Activist teachers significantly impact a student's home life, relationships with others, sense of citizenship, and professional development.

So while I believe that there must be something that can be done that doesn't border child abuse, I also believe parents need to monitor teachers and school administrators. Parents need to find out if a chaotic classroom is their kid's fault, or if it is the fault of an apathetic teacher who allows such chaos to take place. 

Also, we need to find out why students would think it's okay to raise Hell in school. We need to find out if they see their actions as being permissible by their teachers. We need to find out if those kids see being jerks as something that's okay with their parents. 

Finding the root cause of why a bully thinks he can bully others is one way of stopping such behavior. If teachers allow it, then we need to stop them. The same goes for parents. If parents are allowing their kids to be jerks in school, maybe we should figure out ways to get their parents to step up and help resolve the problem. 

As for bringing back some sort of physical punishment, even by a small degree of what used to be condoned in schools, because the level of violence in American schools is higher than ever, I don't see that happening with today's sensitivities. Though that's the case, the question is still the same: What should we, as a society, do to stop our schools from turning into even worse war zones than they are today? And if it's not "corporal punishment," then what other ways of persuasion can we use to change a bully's shitty attitude?

We must ensure our actions ensure students understand that acting out rage, threats, or intimidation is not okay. We must let those with attitude problems know we don't live in a savage society. As with many young people today, school age or older, we need to teach them that there are real consequences for their bad behavior or out-and-out criminal acts. 

History tells us that both students and teachers can take things to extremes. History also teaches us that enforcing rules is the only way to rein in the bad apples. We must demonstrate to everyone that breaking the rules has consequences. The problem today is that people feel there aren't consequences to their bad behavior or criminal acts.  

Tom Correa