Selma Residents Debate the Use of Corporal Punishment in Schools
From the West Alabama Newsroom–
Selma residents debate the use of corporal punishment in schools.
A recent article on AL.com says Alabama is one of 21 states to report paddling in public schools. It also listed Selma City Schools as one of the state’s heaviest users of the corporal punishment.
According to the article, in 2013, R.B. Hudson Middle School landed at the top of the state list for the percentage of students being paddled at nearly 65-percent.
Some people say corporal punishment is needed in schools to stop a few unruly students from disrupting the learning process for the student majority.
“Corporal punishment to me is something that helps rear a young person or child, to let them know that what you’re doing is wrong and I’m going to give you something to remember it by not to do it again,” said Selma resident Monica Collins.
Still, not everyone supports the idea of paddling students.
Dr. James Mitchell is the President of Wallace Community College Selma.
“How do we know that paddling is effective,” said Mitchell. “We can look at our prison system. They punish people but look at the recidivism rate.”
More than 600 students were paddled in Selma City Schools in 2013. That number was down to 178 students in 2015.
