Why The Government Should Ban Corporal Punishment In Schools (Essay Sample)

Why the Government Should Ban Corporal Punishment in Schools

Corporal punishment is permitted in 19 states in the US, majorly in the southern states; however, the northern US and most European nations have prohibited the practice. The practice is still legal in most African countries, particularly the Sub-Saharan region. Nonetheless, even where it is forbidden, corporal punishment still takes place to a considerable degree in such countries. There is a push and pull between proponents and opponents: each side holding its stance as far as the matter is concerned. This article explains why the government should proscribe corporal punishment in schools.

Opponents of corporal punishment argue that it lowers learners' academic performance, especially in Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and mathematics. According to Abhradeep (2021), a child subjected to physical punishment drops by 0.19 and 0.39 in mathematics and EGRA, respectively. The author discredits corporal punishment because it may breed what it should eradicate. To enhance good performance in mathematics and EGRA, the writer suggests that households should avail better resources and promote good health. His evidence suggests that the latter improves score margins by 0.66 in mathematics and 0.26 in EGRA. The author also informs that a child's education perception influences cognitive development: a perception that relies on family and environmental factors. He explains that a positive outlook that excellence in school results in good life may motivate pupils to strive to improve their cognitive skills. Parents must provide learning resources and promote their children's health to improve their academic performance instead of condemning them to corporal punishment.
Furthermore, opponents of corporal punishment assert that it may lead to behavioral and mental health problems. Heekes et al. (2022) discovered that corporal punishment heightened the chances of mental health problems, weakened resilience, anxiety, and depression. The authors add that if exposed to corporal punishment, such children witness increased instances of enuresis. Besides, they affirm that corporal punishment in schools breeds violent conduct, aggression, and violent attitude (particularly in boys) in learners. The practice of physical punishment may outlive school life into adulthood. For instance, this practice significantly increases the perpetration and reception of violence against intimate partners among dating male and female adolescents, respectively. The authors further inform that apart from higher incidences of school shootings, children who undergo corporal punishment may also embrace truancy and insubordination. As an antidote to mental problems and violent acts in learners, the government should proscribe corporal punishment in schools.
Proponents of corporal punishment hold that abolition of the practice breeds indiscipline, which demoralizes teachers. According to Naong (2007), teachers in South Africa were generally exhausted, demotivated, and unhappy with the scrapping of corporal punishment. Abolition of physical retribution contributes to rampant stress and high turnover rates among teachers. The author observes that apart from teachers experiencing stress and diminished morale, they also exited the teaching profession citing indiscipline, which they blamed on the prohibition of the practice. Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, teachers have lamented the misdemeanor of learners in schools. Unlike in the 1950s and 1960s, learners grew