OPINION: Why teachers hitting kids give all of us a free pass | HelenaWasserman
Helena WassermanThere was a wave of support for teachers hitting children after allegations of corporal punishment emerged at Paarl Boys' High this week.
So, for argument's sake, let's accept for a moment that supporters are right about the benefits of hitting children. Let's ignore the extensive body of academic research that links it with aggression later in kids' adult lives, psychological problems, lower IQ scores, poorer school marks, depression and partner abuse.
Perhaps the teachers at the other schools are instilling respect and discipline by setting an example of calm, orderly moral behaviour. Perhaps they are resolving misconduct through trying to understand the behaviour and the situation of every child, addressing problems, and coming up with solutions – equipping the kids with skills they will need later in the workplace, where hitting someone with a plank may be frowned upon.
There is no evidence that corporal punishment is giving the school an edge. In fact, Paarl Boys' High is lagging behind its peers.by the SchoolBoy Rugby blog measured the academic performance of South Africa's rugby-playing schools last year. It ranked the schools' academic performance, giving special weightings to university degree passes as well as maths and physics achievement. Paarl Boys' High was almost right at the bottom of the top 25 schools.
Discarding all of this, let's focus on why corporal punishment at Paarl Boys' High should concern all of us.You may not agree with it – and judging from a News24 poll last week, most South Africans don't – but when a teacher hits your child, they are breaking the law.
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