Jackson Public Schools board members are discussing the pros and cons of resuming the use of paddling as punishment.
Though allowed by a majority of public school districts in the state, the practice was abolished in 1991 in the state's largest school district. The school board decided it did not effectively deter students from bad behavior.
But Sollie Norwood, a new member of the JPS board, wants corporal punishment, prompting a new debate .
A lot of public school jingoist want to ban homeschooling because Christian Fundamentalist homeschoolers 'might' paddle their children. I am not defending paddling but their stance is ironic in light of the fact a majority of public school districts in Mississippi allow paddling.
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Alasandra, I think what they'd REALLY like to do is just ban Mississippi altogether, sigh, and several other southern states along with it if they could.
(Heck, we offered to leave the union before but they wouldn't LET us!)
Americans seem pretty tribal to me sometimes. Deep regional divides and ties explain much more in education politics than our one-room American schoolhouse wallpaper lets show through-- for example, that science schooler who blogs against your homeschooling butterflies considers himself a New Yorker and went to Harvard.
So it's not surprising that a southerner like me mightn't cotton to him [an expression that resonates for me, not for him?] and vice versa -- certainly not as naturally as I connect with his southern ps-centric peers like Gore, Clinton, Edwards etc.
Hi JJ, you are probably right about them wishing they could ban Mississippi, and several other southern states. Especially when it comes to our voting for President.
And don't forget our New Yorker who went to Harvard claims he was homeschooled at some point. Which is funny since he doesn't seem to get the lingo or know much about homeschooling.
I wonder if he would even know what you meant by the expression 'cotton to him', I love southern expressions they are so colorful.
Yep. It seems like anthropologists of all scientists, (even one steeped in archeology?) would be more flexible and nimble, not so culturally clumsy in real human society and relationships, Yankee or no. Also would we expect an anthropologist to be good at understanding how to create change in human culture?
Maybe it's like meeting a lung doctor who smokes -- hard to believe you'd see such dissonance in one person's belief structure and actual behavior but not totally impossible.
I had professional experience with corporal punishment laws and changing attitudes in southern schools, back in the 1980s. I see paddling kids in school, church, Walmart and at home as all about local culture and custom, not subject to effective "prohibition" by well-meaning government. Paddling ends when belief in it ends, when enough hearts and minds change to change society. That's true public progress from true public education. :)
You said.......
It seems like anthropologists of all scientists, (even one steeped in archeology?) would be more flexible and nimble, not so culturally clumsy in real human society and relationships, Yankee or no. Also would we expect an anthropologist to be good at understanding how to create change in human culture?
LOL, you are right of course. He doesn't even try to understand the culture of homeschooling. I don't think he has forgiven us for not all being Fundamentalist Christians. Apparently he doesn't like being WRONG about anything.
I doubt he would even attempt to understand southern culture.
You said..........
I see paddling kids in school, church, Walmart and at home as all about local culture and custom, not subject to effective "prohibition" by well-meaning government. Paddling ends when belief in it ends, when enough hearts and minds change to change society.
You are so right.
Gotta run, I'll try to post something later.
We can't kick Mississippi out. The SC public schools would have to change the motto carved over the front door of the Ed Dept: Gratias ago Deus pro Mississippi.
When I was in junior high we were given a choice of a 500 word essay or a paddling when caught doing something wrong.
It was a matter of principle among the boys that we always, always, opted for the paddling. Writing a 500 word essay might take hours!
It was never a deterrent.
COD said:
"It was a matter of principle among the boys that we always, always, opted for the paddling."
Or we might say a matter of boy-culture? Prison subculture too, a la Philip Zimbardo. The guards and the prisoners are who they are because of the culture, not bad apples so much as bad barrels.
School/prison psychology and cultures are similar in some pretty awful ways, and I do think culture clash explains a lot about all school wars (not just right now and not just about homeschooling.)
Cultures -- you know, what anthropologists care about and study to understand? ;-)
I've known many principals with paddles trying to knock some sense into boy-culture, even though they'd been paddled boys themselves, and paddled kids tend to become paddling parents unless the culture "evolves" and happily, that sometimes happens suddenly, like with Chinese footbinding going from everybody does it to nobody does it, in one generation. . .
I can't stop myself from thinking such things and I'm no anthropologist. Seems to me anthropologists would see culture as the thing to explore in all schooling and education reform. I need a shirt that says, It's the Culture, Stupid!"
I knew MS was good for something.
I am not ignoring you guys. I just got back from a trip and I am beat. I'll post about it when I recuperate.
Zimbardo's a freak. He was the adviser to the psychology honor society at my college and he propositioned me at the party to celebrate our induction even though he's married with a daughter about my age. Ugh!
So it was a bad college barrel then Crimson Wife? Or do you mean he is a bad individual person and thus all his research must be bad?
I too was propositioned by professors, and later as a lowly school lobbyist by many married politicians of both parties, often the same ones in charge of state policy for socializing children in schools and ostentatious in their religious advice to the people. Doesn't that make rather than break Zimbardo's point? --that when individuals are given authority inside institutional barrels they tend to abuse that authority even when they are good people and don't intend to harm others?
He could have punished instead of propositioning, perhaps even paddled you and other girl students and perhaps the institution would see that use of his authority as more acceptable? --
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