Does sparing the rod spoil the child?
In schools, at least, a growing consensus over the last 50 years is that it does not. Corporal punishment declined dramatically over that span, in large part due to findings that hitting or spanking students does more harm than good to their mental health. Many parents view it as a form of child abuse.
This summer, however, a school district in Missouri chose to disagree. On June 16, the school board of the Cassville R-IV School District added a new policy, “Corporal Punishment,” to its manual. Starting with the new school year, teachers may now use “physical force as a method of correcting student behavior.” It applies for elementary school and high school students.
