{"id":17126,"date":"2008-12-30T18:13:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-31T00:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=17126"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:23:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:23:48","slug":"should-corporal-punishment-be-allowed-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-corporal-punishment-be-allowed-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Many parents who use corporal discipline at home are opposed to its use in a Christian school. They feel that only the parent should administer this type of discipline when needed. I have always believed that the school should have the authority to paddle when needed. What are your views on this controversial subject?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Given the number of incidents of abuse occurring, I’m not surprised that parents have concerns about turning the right to physical punishment over to school officials. From a scriptural viewpoint, nothing indicates that others can’t carry out corporal punishment. In fact, in some cases, the government used it to punish certain offenses (Proverbs 10:13; 19:29).<\/p>\n

In private schools, parents can choose to send their children there. Thus, as long as the policy of the school regarding corporal punishment is clearly laid out, such as who is allowed to administer it, in what cases it is used, and the guidelines for the actual administration, then the parents can make an informed choice as to whether the school meets their needs.<\/p>\n

One root cause of problems in public schools today is the lack of an effective way to enforce rules and discipline. You can’t fail a student, so there is no incentive to do homework or get good grades if a child is determined not to be obedient. Schools will use detentions, but again, if a child doesn’t go, the school can’t do anything. The only options a school has for severe punishment are suspension or expulsion, which they generally want to avoid because they also affect the funding they receive.<\/p>\n

Parents aren’t helping either, as the school is generally seen as “the enemy.” Parents tend to take their children’s side instead of the teachers’ and administrators’. Since there is no punishment at home for disobedience in school, again, violence and a lack of learning increase.<\/p>\n

I see no reason for taking away options from a school for maintaining a violence-free and disciplined learning environment. Teachers and administrators need tools that allow them to enforce rules. Currently, 28 states prevent corporal punishment in schools. See: “States with Corporal Punishment in Schools<\/a>” for a list. Other forms of punishment that also provide benefits, such as physical workouts or homework assignments, should also be a part of a school’s “arsenal” against disruptive and unruly behavior.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Many parents who use corporal discipline at home are opposed to its use in a Christian school. They feel that only the parent should administer this type of discipline when needed. I have always believed that the school should have the authority to paddle when needed. What are your views on this controversial subject?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[108],"class_list":["post-17126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-spanking"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-teachers-spank-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":0},"title":"Should teachers spank children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I really think that discipline is necessary sometimes. I remember that even teachers used to spank. Do you think it is still a good system of discipline for today? Answer: \"Is there anything of which it may be said, \"See, this is new\"? It has already been in ancient\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-bare-bottom-spankings-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":1},"title":"Are bare-bottom spankings necessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm glad I came across your website and read so many things from other dads of older boys. I'm a single dad of a 13-year-old boy. I've been needing to spank him for his improper attitude, but I have been very afraid to. Mostly because I'm uptight about male\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10748,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-rebuttal-to-when-is-a-child-too-old-to-spank\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":2},"title":"A rebuttal to “When is a child too old to spank?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to comment on your article entitled: How do we start biblical discipline when our children are already older?\u00a0I agree with most of what you have written. I believe that corporal punishment can be very effective if it is done in love, not impulsively and not as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13978,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-discovered-one-of-my-stepsons-is-looking-at-pornography\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":3},"title":"I discovered one of my stepsons is looking at pornography","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I recently discovered that at least one of my stepsons had downloaded pornography on their computer, which is in their shared bedroom. The fourteen-year-old seems to be the guilty culprit, but he won't own up. The twelve-year-old says it wasn\u2019t him, and I believe him. The law says I\u2019m\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13968,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-embarrassed-that-i-spanked-my-daughter-for-skipping-classes\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":4},"title":"I’m embarrassed that I spanked my daughter for skipping classes","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a recently separated mom of three children ages 13, 10 and 8. The older two are girls. My thirteen-year-old really started to act up this school year, only a few months after her father and I separated. She was caught skipping classes twice earlier in the school\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21684,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-gershoffs-study-in-2002-show-spanking-leads-to-aggression\/","url_meta":{"origin":17126,"position":5},"title":"Doesn’t Gershoff’s study in 2002 show spanking leads to aggression?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just read some of your Questions and Answers. We have a family in our church who is seriously set on frequent spanking using tools, e.g. a belt. Now I was wondering what God (and the Bible) says about it. You seem to name relevant passages of the Bible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17126"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98315,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17126\/revisions\/98315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}