In Deep South, students are still paddled
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RALPH LAUER/FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM Although a majority of states have banned the spanking or paddling of students over the past few decades, public schools in some Southern states still depend on the practice - creating one more stress point for students already more likely to confront ill-qualified teachers, crumbling infrastructure and chaotic classrooms. RALPH LAUER KRT
In Greenwood, Miss., this year's student/parent handbook shows a globe being hoisted by several young students. "Maximizing student potential," the Greenwood Public School District declares on its cover. On Page 3, the handbook tells students to be honest, respect authority and "avoid violence," because "there are other ways to resolve conflicts."
Then, on page 19, it lays out the circumstances under which school administrators can hit students.
"Corporal punishment for use in this district," it says, "is defined as punishing or correcting a student by striking the student on the buttocks with a paddle."
Such punishment, it says, must be carried out by the principal or assistant principal and "shall not exceed five swats with a paddle." The punishment does not constitute "assault, simple assault, aggravated assault, battery, negligence or child abuse."
Greenwood's policy is not uncommon -- at least not in the Deep South. Although a majority of states have banned the spanking or paddling of students over the past few decades, public schools in some Southern states still depend on the practice -- creating one more stress point for students already more likely to confront ill-qualified teachers, crumbling infrastructure and chaotic classrooms.
"Some people would cry," said Laquerius Leflore, 18, who graduated last year from Ruleville Central High School in Ruleville, Miss., and says he was paddled at school five times as a teen. "It would be like somebody really got tortured sometimes. They tried to make it hurt. That was the whole point of it."
Administrators at the Sunflower County and Greenwood school districts did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.
There are 19 states that permit corporal punishment: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. But according to U.S. Department of Education data, nearly 60 percent of the students paddled nationwide come from just four neighboring states - Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
The first three of those states also have among the largest African American populations. Blacks constitute about 16 percent of public school students in the United States and 35In Deep South, students are still paddled | SunHerald: