TEACHERS, STOP SPANKING YOUR STUDENTS!
Black Lives Matter, but Black Bodies Get Beaten
I attended a Catholic pre-school; the teachers and the director were nuns. It was the 1980s, meaning that certain attitudes were very much normalized, like corporal punishment, albeit mildly.
One of our collective pastimes in pre-school was flickering the boys’ bathroom light. The light was located outside the bathroom, so there was a chance that you’d get in trouble for being seen near the light, let alone actually flickering it. But we did it anyway and had fun. Of course, on the occasion that I actually got the courage to flicker the light, I got caught and was promptly smacked on the hand with a ruler, followed by a hug.
As soon as my grandmother came to pick me up, I told her what happened. I never flickered those lights again. But, I can tell you, the school ceased from hitting children with rulers.
UNICEF defines corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.” The Civil Rights Data Collection defines it as “paddling, spanking, or other forms of physical punishment imposed on a child.”
It typically involves hitting (“smacking”, “slapping”, “spanking”) children, with the hand or with an implement. Thankfully, I don’t live in a state where CONTINUE READING: Teachers, Stop Spanking Your Students! - Philly's 7th Ward