Corporal Punishment in Primary School

Violence has become an increasing problem in the school systems. In the past few years there has been numerous incidents involving violence and/or aggression around the United States; from a few years ago in Springfield, Oregon to just six months ago in Littleton, Colorado. Violence is a learned behavior, causing commitments to moral behavior and people’s ability to enforce and encourage positive, non-violent ways to deal with conflict and anger (Elliot 1A). Kids do not turn violent overnight, nor do they not have previous problems of some type. Aggressive behavior can be attributed to a number of things and expressed in a number of ways through home-life, culture, and society. Many of the kids who have committed violent crimes have had problems since the age of five. It is extremely hard to say what leads kids to horrible acts such as Springfield and Columbine.

One reason may be aggressive behavior in childhood, caused by harsh and inconsistent parents. A poor family life often leads to trouble in school from the very beginning. The best thing to do for such troubled children is to help them control their aggression through emotional growth and learning. Parents should encourage good behavior or the child will think this way is ineffective. As the child grows older they will continue to think that violent behavior is acceptable and is the most effective way. A teacher can step into these situations and help them see positive morals and realize their actions are wrong.

Teachers should reward students for polite behavior or else they will feel frustration and failure. Frustration and failure can bring the child to aggressive behavior as it brings results and gives a sense of control. There are studies that show how to help students understand and control aggression. Most students with poor peer relations and much aggression were raised with lack of supervision, inconsistent discipline, and abusive treatment, and they were not taught good social behavior. According to the article, Aggressive behavior in childhood, in the British Medical Journal there are five elements to shaping a child’s actions. First of all, it is important to interact with the student and have good times with them.

Secondly, rewarding good behavior will encourage more frequent occurrences of the behavior, even if it is the littlest thing such as being quiet and attentive to the teacher. Next, it is also important to give clear rules and expectations of your class. They must be constant, firm, and brief. Also, just telling a student not to do something will not be as effective as telling them specifically what to do instead. Another important element is to give consistent and calm consequences for misbehavior. Teachers should not make too many threats that are usually not carried out, or the student will learn to not respect authority.

Lastly, teachers need to plan ahead for each activity they take the student to. If the class is going on a field trip or an activity that will not interest the student, it is helpful for him/her to have a book, assignment, or something that will be of equal enjoyment for them to do. Culture and society have the biggest impact on aggression in students. They include beliefs about violence and aggression, norms governing conflict resolution, child-rearing emphases, availability of role models, and emphasis placed on competitions and individual goals instead of group goals. In societies such as Mexico and Korea, students are taught to get along with others, avoid conflicts with other people, and work toward group rather than individual goals.

In societies like the United States, students are taught to stand up for themselves and fight aggression with aggression. Parents who are rejecting, lacking in affection, do not care how their children express their aggression, and use physical punishment, often raise aggressive students. Students also learn by imitation, so if the parents other adults, or older students act aggressively, the student most likely will behave the same way. When a peer displeases the student, they will do what their parents do to them when they are displeased. Along with parenting techniques, culture and society influence a child’s aggression level greatly.

American students tend to be aggressive because of the emphasis their society places on competition and individuality. The important thing to remember is that students are imitators. A child does not learn aggression on his/her own. As future teachers, we need to be instilling positive morals for our students and help them act appropriately in and out of the classroom.

Bibliography Works Cited

British Medical Journal. Aggressive behavior in childhood. June 1994: 37-56. Elliot, Delbert S. How Could This Happen? The Denver Post 24 April 1999 A1. Word Count: 749