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Originally Posted by HarryT
Let me elaborate then, Sparrow. I know that many people will probably throw up their hands in horror, but I am firmly in favour of judiciously-applied corporal punishment. When we were in school, if we gave teachers any "lip" it was a ruler across the palm of the hands (and that hurt); most kids very quickly learned politeness as a result.
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I'm in favor of corporal punishment, but I would be less than thrilled to have someone other than a parent administer it to my child. I know my own kids and what types of punishment each responds to (my oldest just got more defiant when spanked, her younger sister became very fearful when spanked) and I wouldn't expect a teacher to be able to learn that about every child in their class. I also feel strongly that my kids don't get spanked unless they know it's coming - they've been warned clearly that the consequence of repeating an action will be a spanking. I also learned early as a parent never to spank in anger - it needs to be a measured consequence not an impassioned reaction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
When I see the local "yobs" hanging around the village where I live today, giving cheek to everyone, and with absolutely no respect for anyone, I am utterly convinced that a few good "canings" earlier in life would have made them far more polite and better-mannered teenagers than they are.
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A few years ago an American teenager was caned in Singapore because he sprayed graffiti on a car. While it is arguable that the punishment was too severe (which I tend to agree with based on the idea that he probably didn't know the consequence of his action...and I attribute that to parental failure) it is also true that they don't have graffiti problems in Singapore like we do in the US. If harsher punishments mean less crime to punish that seems like a fair tradeoff to me.