corporal punishment

when i was at school, i was a bit unruly at times and as a result i got punished, my form of punishment was the cane.

now at the time, i hated my head master for this as i felt it was undeserved, however in time i have looked back on this as an important lesson, and met my old headmaster recentely at a re-union, he remembered the day i got the cane and apologised, i said i was the one to apologise, not him, and thanked him for what he had done.

it showed me for every action there can be a reaction, for every choice i make right/wrong there would be a different outcome, it taught me where the boundaries between what was right and what was deemed wrong.

these lessons so early in ones life can instill a sense of respect in oneself, and for how one acts towards others in society.

in todays society however, we see gang culture, knife crime, anti-social behaviour, abuse, drug culture, and little or no respect from the young towards others, the very fabric os society seems to be eroding.

i am not for one minute saying that corporal punishment is the key to correcting this trend, but would it help if re-introduced to help set those boundaries and teach young people the difference between right/wrong, as many parents seem unable to instill this message to their offspring themselves.

I was the same as you,I got the Cane or copped a hiding from my parents when I was out of line,now they say spare the rod and spoil the Child,and what you also said about Gangs is right.
Works really well spoiling the little Snots doesn't it??

No it would not help, inflicting pain on someone is not an appropriate deterrent. In the long term it could cause children psychological issues and one of the things that every child needs is to feel safe where they are, including at school. Yes there's knife crime,etc but that's because young people don't really have many other outlets and not enough is being done to educate them about the consequences of their actions. I think it's quite vile that form of punishment was in schools in the first place, but then I guess I would as it wasn't my generation that went through it.

I went through the Catholic school system in the 1940-'50's. I got the snot slapped out of me by the nuns and beat up by the other students. Until one of my uncles showed me some tricks. Then I hurt a few guys before I no longer got picked on.
My point, before I strayed is, none of my classmates did any jail time, including myself. Had we been treated like little pussies like todays brats are, who knows.

They don't do that anymore. Someone sexually assaulted me and the vice principal didn't try to stop him...he said that he didn't believe me. I had to embarrass him in front of a room of 12 female teachers by explaining what he did in order to get that kid off the bus. He should have caned that kids ass.

Not in the school systems.

I'm always curious about this one. Somehow attending teacher training is meant to somehow give you the ability to judge exactly what someone has done and then assault them for it.

It's amazing really when you think about it, a year at a college and suddenly you have powers beyond the police, the courts or even parents. Just try and imagine any other job having that right? An employee at MacDonalds being able to beat kids because of something they did wrong, or a bus driver? And all without pesky details like evidence or proff of guilt.

I don't know if I believe in teachers having powers to cane or smack. doesn't seem right BUT back in my fathers day when there was the CANE kids had RESPECT for their elders.. they sure as hell don't now!

My biggest regret to date is smacking my ex's kids, she didn't agree with smacking them, I only did on a handful of occasions but when your getting back chat attitude from a 5 year old your tired and just want some PEACE..... takes the patience of a saint not to.

Yes kids had more respect back then, but at what cost? They would have been scared of their elders, I wouldn't exactly label that as respect. At least now children are able to have open dialogue with their parents about serious issues without fearing rebukement for it, in my grandmother's day it just used to be speak when spoken to, hardly a positive environment for a child to grow up in.

How right you are my friend, a litte punishement wouldn't hurt some of these kids today. They belive they are already growup well give them what it is like to be growup. Life is hard and if one does not respect others how can they respect them self!

But you learned by listening to your elders, not by back talk. It works kinda like the old saying "peace through superior firepower".

It must be a generation gap thing, that quote seems like an oxymoron
I agree though, young people do talk back a hell of a lot these days (myself included) but I don't think violence is the necessary deterrent for it. And then you get the possibility that there would be teachers and/or parents who would be way too harsh and take advantage of the freedom, but then I guess that's no different to now.

Scared of their elders? Oh please! Not getting away with everything you want, not being able to talk back against those in charge, not always arguing with those around you f***in builds character. You are not scared of the people inflicting the punishment, you are scared of the punishment itself. You are not going to tell me that the successful baby boomers who are rich and retired and HAPPY are suffering from their parents wacking them upside the head when they do something stupid. You look at todays teenagers, who can't even form a f***ing sentence, who sit in front of the computer all day with their friends and only get together to go to movies or bully each other. What a bunch of pampered b****es!

I'm sorta on the fence about this one.
I was an unruly kid, and got several beatings growing up, that I both deserved and needed. As a result I ended up being a decent adult.

But... those beatings didn't keep me out of trouble, or make me respect people right away. I needed to spend a little time in prison to learn that.

My sisters kids have never been hit in their lives, and never did anything that warranted being hit. They've grown up to be really exceptional young men.

So, I guess that it comes down to the individual as to what's the right thing to do.

FYI not all teenagers are like that, we're not all 'pampered b****es,'and there's no need to use such profanity, you can make your point quite clear without it.