Corporal Punishment

From what I've heard, corporal punishment is an accepted and expected form of discipline in schools in Korea--from Korean teachers, not Westerners. Students understand that if they misbehave, that's the consequence--a good whipping. There are even special rooms in public schools for it. Hogwons (English schools) are a little different, less strict for sure.

I was, to say the least, shocked at the corporal punishment received by a student from the principal last week. In the middle of class, a student shouted out, "F*@& you, f*@& you, f*@& you," --not AT anyone, just said it aloud. This child is notorious for misbehaving. I sent him to the hall to do his work because I knew that the principal would see him there and would come investigate. A knock on my door five minutes later, and there she was. When she asked why he was there, I told her that he said "F you, f you, f you," and she seemed confused. I cupped my hand and whispered into her eye what the F stood for. She yelled, "F*@& you, f*@& you, f*@&??????" in front of the entire class. I went wide-eyed. I didn't exactly expect that! She proceeded to smack him on the arm and yell some Korean at him. The student laughed, she laughed, and then she kicked him on the rear and thigh, and yelled some more Korean. It was more of a playful scolding than a beating. It worked. He behaved for the rest of class.

Why can't we do this in America?

So this happens quite a lot here, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. I know there are gobs of studies out there that say violence to a child has lasting negative effects that linger into adulthood. But crime is Korea is extremely low. So is smacking/whipping/spanking a misbehaving student all that bad if it works? Especially if it's accepted in your culture? I don't know, but I do know I'm not willing to give it a go.

xx
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