Florida schools to start physically abusing kids

What the ever loving fuck! There is no way I would subject my kid to that. No way.

Spanking in public schools is already legal in Florida, it’s not new. It’s not a new policy with this school board or this sheriff.

It’s legal in 20 states.

Public schools spank where I live.

Holy crap, I thought that had been banned everywhere years ago. I'm horrified. We never spanked our kid, so there is no way I would tolerate someone else spanking my kid. I don't think any of my friends spank their kids either.

Thank heaven it is banned in the district where my boys went to school and where I teach. 

I would imagine that my boys - having autism and not always behaving appropriately - would have been spanked regularly in a school district that used spanking as a classroom management strategy. ☹️

I will guess that, in addition to ethnicity difference in the prevalence of spanking being used as discipline, children with special needs/IEPs are also overrepresented in the been-spanked-at-school group. 

Absolutely not! There is no way I would have my child in a district like that. Wow.

What kind of stats/numbers show that spanking is in any way beneficial or a deterrent to 'bad' behavior?

I looked at the list of states that allow corporal punishment and all I see is red states with the exception of Colorado.

I remember my older siblings recalling getting rapped on the knuckles with a wooden ruler for misbehaving in grade school by the nuns at their private Catholic school back in the 60’s. ☹️ They would have to lay their hands flat on the desk and the nun would smack them with the ruler. That school ended up closing (no surprise) before I was school age so I didn’t go there.

I will say that just because corporal punishment is allowed in a state doesn't mean that it is practiced much if at all (and yes, any amount is too much). It may technically be allowed in Texas, for example, but is explicitly disallowed in my district and many others here. We don't do that.

If spanking had been routinely practiced in Brevard County up to now, it's not clear to me why the sheriff and new school board members need to make a statement about creating a "new" discipline policy. It's personally very disturbing to me to have a white sheriff and white school board members standing in front of a jail talking about implementing the type of policies that - if past performance is any indication - will disproportionately affect students of color, low SES students, SPED students, and other historically marginalized populations. And that have contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline that is so alarmingly evoked by the choice of the jail location.

Once again, they seem to be putting the onus of fixing societal problems on teachers and administrators instead of addressing the reasons why kids act out in school. I need you to allow me to teach the kids I have in front of me with smaller class sizes, adequate resources, and reasonable expectations. I don't need to be handed a "discipline policy" that requires me to refer kids for suspension or corporal punishment in lieu of getting what I need to teach.

Wow not that my kid got in trouble but I am glad it’s not legal here. At least I don’t think it is. It’s hard to believe it’s still legal in 20 states.

Is this practice supported by the my body my choice anti-vax keep government out of it pro life people?

Was there more to his statement. I did not hear him say they were going to start spanking kids in the posted clip. He did say tougher discipline, but didn't say what that meant.

I am 100% against corporal punishment and spanking. I am also 100% against giving FL any of my money.

As many of you know, I have worked in child protective services for almost 30 years now. Physical violence, including “state sanctioned” “corporal punishment” is a HUGE trigger for traumatized children and teens.

I just think school districts must have to carry massive amounts of liability insurance for that. What a waste of money to uphold an outdated and barbaric discipline system. I can just imagine parents going from "yeah I signed that form" to "I didn't think you would actually hit my kid when he's a perfect angel and never at fault!" really quickly, with lawsuits soon to follow.

DH and I have an umbrella liability policy, and any time we renew or update, after asking my profession, the next thing they ask is if I work in a school that allows corporal punishment.

Oh my fucking hell! I can't believe anyone would encourage corporal punishment. Thank goodness Nebraska banned it.

I was in school when corporal punishment was a thing. Our principal would line up the kids. He called it the show. They would bend over and he hit them with a paddle. We could all watch.

I remember in 4th grade the teacher lined up all the boys in our class out in the hall and made them face the wall. He then paddled them.

I started school at a 3 room country school house. There was no corporal punishment. I was in 2nd grade when we moved, and I started at this new school. Our 2nd grade teacher was a mean old lady that threatened to paddle kids all the time. I was terrified to go to school and often had stomach aches.

Corporal punishment is humiliating. I can't imagine anyone thinking it is a good idea.