Seoul's elementary, middle, and high schools banned corporal punishment on November 1. Now, even light punishment can be corporal punishment. Because of this, the pros and cons of a total ban on corporal punishment have been raised.


Pro

In July, a video heated the Internet. It showed a student being slapped across the face and kicked by his school teacher when he wrote a letter of apology because of a fight with his friend. After the video was uploaded to the Internet, that teacher was dismissed from his post, and Kwak No-hyun, the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, banned corporal punishment in schools in Seoul from November. I think it is correct.

The most important thing is students’ human rights. Corporal punishment is effective in the short term, but finally it is possible to make dangerous results. The student who makes trouble just does the things that a teacher orders, instead of reflecting on and realizing his or her wrongdoings, because he or she doesn’t want to suffer corporal punishment. Real education has to give students chances to regret their wrongdoings and make up for their faults. However, corporal punishment makes students skip this process. If this situation continues, it is hard for students to establish proper values.

Around 120 countries prohibit corporal punishment in school. Among these countries, 24 countries, including Germany, Luxemburg, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, prohibit it in environments like school and youth detention centers. Recently, New Zealand banned all punishments. However, if a student disturbs class or his or her attitude is poor, the school imposes sanctions according to school rules. For example, students who often do not do their homework or make trouble have to take a class out of the class room or consult the principal. If it doesn’t solve these things, the parents come to the school and take the class with the students.

America bans corporal punishment in 27 states by law. In Michigan, a school gives guidelines on discipline to the students and their parents at the beginning of the school term. If a student commits a misdeed, the student receives supplementary lessons or light punishment or gets suspended from school. In Iowa, a student who acts up terribly receives emotional pressure by standing all class. In this respect, other countries make a good educational environment without corporal punishment.

The zeal for education in Korea is already ranked among advanced countries. Corporal punishment has to be banned to join the ranks of advanced countries in attitude and environment of education. Banning corporal punishment makes trouble in teaching students for a while. However, we have to deal with the problem of education without corporal punishment and try to suggest effective alternatives.

Con