On Tuesday, the Oklahoma state Senate advanced a bill that would bar the use of corporal punishment on disabled children in schools — which, jarringly, came as a big disappointment to some Republicans in the Senate who believe that not beating disabled children is an affront to God.
While many of us would hope that this was merely an oversight and not something that was actually a problem, federal statistics show that from 2017 to 2018 more than 20 percent of corporal punishment in Oklahoma schools was administered on disabled students. Children with disabilities are also three times more likely to be victims of abuse or neglect than are their peers without disabilities.
Via Oklahoma Voice:
“I have never, ever, ever met a parent of a disabled child call for the beating of their child to make them better,” said Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, the author.
Rader said some of the protected disabilities include deafness, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, visual impairment or an orthopedic injury. […]
“Perhaps the parent of the child, in most cases, knows best what that child is going to respond to and how the child is going to perform his or her duties in the classroom,” said Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, who voted against the bill.
Or not! Just because a parent chooses to physically abuse their children, that doesn’t mean the school should join in. If a parent sexually abuses their children and thinks that’s a good thing, would state Sen. Warren Hamilton believe the school should defer to their judgment? Where does this end?
Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, said Tuesday that banning the practice in schools amounts to “a top down socialist aligned ideological, unilateral divorce between parents’ ability to collaborate with their local schools to establish a disciplined regimen.”
He also said it “is a violation of scripture,” and cited Proverbs 22:15 which he said says “folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”
The United States government is under no obligation to adhere to any scripture or to cater to the wants and needs of parents they should probably be calling social services about.
Sen. Jett has long been an ardent supporter of corporal punishment for disabled students, having advocated against a similar bill the legislature attempted to pass last year — by arguing that those who won’t beat disabled children do not love them.
I already cited Proverbs 13:24: “Whoever spares the rod hates their child, but he who loves them disciplines them.” And we’re saying the state of Oklahoma has unilaterally decided if you have vision impairment, you cannot be disciplined, even if your parents want that. We’re going to unilaterally take that away from our schools and our parents, more importantly. If you are hearing impaired, suddenly you’re in a different class, you cannot be disciplined. And we’ve already made it abundantly clear that children can misbehave regardless of their abilities or inabilities, capabilities or incapabilities. … Are we sending a message that we don’t love our children?
There is definitely a feeling among some on the Right that liberals have deprived parents and schools of the only truly effective means of punishing and preventing bad behavior — and one that will prevent their children from being coddled, entitled, participation-trophy-hoarding, soy-latte-drinking, Pajama Boy wimps. While there’s no real way to confirm the latter, we do know that the former is absolute bullshit. There is literally no evidentiary basis for the effectiveness of corporal punishment, and a whole lot of evidence that it can actually make behavior worse.
The World Health Organization reports that corporal punishment has been shown to result in:
direct physical harm, sometimes resulting in severe damage, long-term disability or death;
mental ill-health, including behavioural and anxiety disorders, depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, self-harm and suicide attempts, alcohol and drug dependency, hostility and emotional instability, which continue into adulthood;
impaired cognitive and socio-emotional development, specifically emotion regulation and conflict solving skills;
damage to education, including school dropout and lower academic and occupational success;
poor moral internalization and increased antisocial behaviour;
increased aggression in children;
adult perpetration of violent, antisocial and criminal behaviour;
indirect physical harm due to overloaded biological systems, including developing cancer, alcohol-related problems, migraine, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and obesity that continue into adulthood;
increased acceptance and use of other forms of violence; and
damaged family relationships.
Despite this, it is still extremely popular among certain Christian sects. In 1994, Michael and Debi Pearl published the book To Train Up A Child, which advocated for physical punishment even for infants, and it has been hugely influential in evangelical circles since then. It’s also resulted in the deaths of several children at the hands of parents who had been convinced that this was the best thing for them. Because hey! Who should you trust when it comes to a child’s wellbeing? 2000 studies showing that this is deeply harmful, or a 2000 year old book written by people who were hearing voices?
If Shane Jett and others want to spank somebody so desperately, there are plenty of consenting adults out there who would be more than happy to help them scratch that itch. As far as children go, however, they should really consider keeping their hands to themselves, lest they someday pull back stubs.
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