In effect, the school’s mistreatment of its students tends to exonerate families’ similar mistreatment of their children. The favor is reciprocal. It’s a winning formula. All parties can then soothe their consciences by camouflaging their questionable behaviors behind the flag of tradition.
A female Florida sheriff’s deputy handcuffed naked girls to a desk, spanked them with a leather paddle and sent the seamy homemade videos to a boyfriend she met on a fetish web site, authorities said.
Somewhere along the way, many of us have been participants – wittingly or unwittingly – in the abuse of black children and provoking the anger that many law enforcement, social work and mental health experts say fuels some of the behavior that results in poor outcomes for many black youth.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class action lawsuit against Jackson Public School District in Mississippi for allowing an alternative school to shackle and handcuff students for hours on end as punishment for the most minor infractions, like speaking too loudly or not wearing a belt.
The first Global Summit on Ending Corporal Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline, June 2-4, hosted by S.M.U. psychology professor George Holden, Ph.D. in Dallas. Attending were activists representing twenty one countries who are dedicated to abolishing all forms of spanking, paddling, slapping, hitting and smacking of children world wide. We discussed studies that show corporal punishment produces no positive outcomes and is associated with increased aggression, as well as behavior and mental health problems. It also fosters lower IQ, poorer academic performance, and increased bullying.