I believe that no good will come of hitting school kids, except make the child feel like crap, and instead of learning about what they did wrong, instead harbour negative feelings about the person who hit them, totally ignoring why they got hit.
Lewis's research has shown that strategies such as hinting, discussion, recognising and reward and involvement are far more effective in reducing misbehaviour than coercion, such as yelling, sarcasm and group punishment. Lewis found aggression was the only strategy that undermined the relationship between teacher and student and made students less likely to comply with expectations for behaviour. And the "ripple effect" - that punishing one student can have on others - is minimised when a teacher uses positive strategies, but exacerbated by the use of aggression...
...But it is the relationship between student and teacher that is paramount. Lewis says "years of sending a child off to the principal for discipline has done untold damage. It is just sending a child who is already struggling away". Lewis says punishment, when necessary, needs to come from the teacher, within a trusting and mutually respectful relationship.
I agree with all of what the good doctor says, but this part in particular. Really, school teachers have a big part in raising children too (primary), as they are at school for 6 hours a week, 5 days a week. During their primary school years they have the same teacher all day for the year, so it is easier to build a strong relationship with each student. It is also paramount that the bond is strong, so as the teacher tries to regulate their class, their decisions will be taken seriously by the student. It is also important that they are explained what they did wrong, instead of the teacher just handing out punishments.
Case Study: This happened when i was in year 6. We had this sub, and she was a nasty piece of work. She'd shout, and bang rulers on the desk. She made one of the girls in our class cry, who was one of the nicest people i'd ever met. So the whole class was angry at her, so we'd be disruptive just to spite her. She was pure evil =P
Also this year, i have a few friends that hate this one class. I've have spoken to other people in the same class and they have all said they are dropping it next year as well, because they really don't like being there, which is a shame because there are some really talented people in that class. The reason why everyone dislikes the class is because the teacher is immature, shouts and pays out students. Im not saying that some of the students arent at fault, but there are better ways of dealing with them, and his attitude brings down the whole class. Again, if the students repected him they would feel oblidged to listen to him, do their work and all in all have a more enjoyable time in class and at school.
There are usually reasons why kids misbehave, and it might not be the teacher. It could be their parents, other adults in their life, the quality of their lifestyle or abuse from other students. This is an important reason why teachers should never give up on a student. In high school this is hard because there are alot more students to cope with, and there is only a small amount of time a week that you have contact with them. Therefore it is more important to try and get them to respect you, to make use of the time in class, and for their welfare. hopefully because they are older they will be more cooperative, though this is mostly not the case- some kids just dont want to be at school anymore and cant see the point in learning. Even if this is so if there is the respective bond between the student and the teacher, then the student would listen to the teacher when they are asked to do something.
So we shouldn't resort to physical abuse, when all someone has to do it work alittle harder, and make everyones lives better.
Don't take the easy option.
