http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/corporal-punishment-a-violation-of\
-human-rights/

"Every year in the United States at least 220,000 children in public schools are
subjected to corporal punishment." I was honestly a little bit taken aback when
I read this statement from a Human Rights Watch reporter. Having attended school
in South Africa for many years, the concept of corporal punishment, or physical
punishment of a child by an adult authority, is not unknown to me. But the truth
is that I never associated it with school in America, which is why I was
surprised when I was informed of the remarkable number of students who are
subjected to "paddling" in the United States.
My misconception about this issue was obviously derived from the fact that
only 21 states, mostly in the south, still permit corporal punishment in public
schools. California, where I live, along with the rest of the west and New
England have banned the act. Clearly, the country seems split on this decision,
and the question is still buzzing around throughout the nation. Is corporal
punishment an effective method of discipline?
Supporters argue that it is an extremely efficient way of discouraging
students from misbehaving. However, a Human Rights Watch executive summary on
the topic revealed that corporal punishment, more often than not, is more
harmful than beneficial. It compromises the educational environment by injuring
the students, dissolving the trust between teachers and students, and
distracting students from learning.
In addition to the arguments against effectiveness, the report also noted
that corporal punishment in the United States is highly disproportioned against
African-American students. A lot of the data can be explained by the higher
number of African American students in the states that still employ corporal
punishment; however, it has been shown that even in the 13 states that paddle
over 1000 every year, African-American students are "1.4 times more likely to
get paddled than would be expected given their proportion of the student body."
Also, data has shown that a disproportionate number of students subjected to
corporal punishment in the United States are special education students with
physical or mental disabilities. The HRW report revealed that more than 40,000
special education students were subjected to corporal punishment in the 06-07
school year.
This issue is more prominent in other countries, but it seems to be a
universal dilemma that every nation is debating. Many critics of corporal
punishment say that it gives off the notion that "violence is legitimate". Many
have also made the powerful declaration that corporal punishment is
"incompatible with human rights standards prohibiting cruel, inhuman, and
degrading treatment". Although there are many countries that will not yield just
because of an accusation like this, hopefully America will live up to it's
reputation as the leading nation of the free world and insist that a change be
implemented.

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