"Spanking bill in Kansas sparks controversy"
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/19/spanking-bill-in-kansas-sparks-controversy/
About the Article
This article is about a Kansas lawmaker, Gail Finney, who introduced a bill that would expand on the right that allows teachers to spank children in class. She claims that the introduction of this bill is not to legalize child abuse but to allow teachers to maintain authority over the misbehaving student. In her statement she states that the legislation would allow "up to ten forceful applications in succession of a bare, open-hand palm against the clothed buttocks of a child and any such reasonable physical force on the child as may be necessary to hold, restrain or control the child in the course of maintaining authority over the child, acknowledging that redness or bruising may occur on the tender skin of a child as a result." Finney says that the purpose of the bill is to " (i) provide guidance to state officials in the administrative and judicial branches; (ii) serve as a guideline to parents; and (iii) protect Kansas children from abuse." There are multiple people in Kansas opposing this bill though. A pediatric nurse at Children's Mercy hospital stated that spanking is not as effective as timeout and only usually leads to aggressive behaviors within the child.
How does this relate to APGOPO
In AP Government we are learning about the constitution by doing worksheets and playing a competitive constitutional game. This is an example of states being able to make laws which is stated in the constitution. It also talks about legislation and we know what is required to get a bill passed and we can infer as to whether or not this bill will be passed. It also gives us an example of how the government leaves controversial issues to the states; such as spanking.
My Opinion
I feel as if this bill should not and will not be passed. It is not a teachers responsibility to spank children's but the parents. I also do not agree with Finney's statement on how this is not intended child abuse. Spanking a kid hard enough to leave a bruise or mark is child abuse. Like the nurse at Children's Mercy hospital stated, spanking does lead to future aggression in children, read http://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/elina-parenting/study-spanking-can-lead-aggressive-behavior-children for more info on how it can lead to future aggression.
I disagree with Laura on this one. As much as I hate it, parents do not take responsibility for their children all too often. There are lots of cases where teachers are the only sources of authority in a child's life and they might as well be the parent for those seven or eight hours a day. Because of this, I think teachers should have the right to spank their kids. I'm not saying they should use this power all the time, but all forms of discipline aren't effect on all children. Time outs, isolation, and missed recess may not be true punishment, depending on the student and his/her personality. If spanking is what will send the message that the student needs to act responsibly, so be it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very controversial topic. Emily does make a point: often the teacher is the only disciplinarian and authority in a child's life. However is it the teacher's job to be the source of corporal punishment.
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