Chart 4

		Date Due	Date Started	Date completed	Time spent	Posted to the Blog?  ✓
Topic Selection	I have selected the topic of my argument, determined my major points, and anticipated the counter arguments	11/8	11/8	11/8	30 mins	Yes
Prewriting	What do I already know?	11/8	11/8	11/8	10 mins	Yes
	What do I still need to know?	11/8	11/8	11/9	10 mins	Yes
	What did my research tell me?	11/11	11/11	11/11	30 mins	Yes
Organizing	Finding a focus	11/11	11/13	11/13	60 mins	Yes
	Thesis and plan of development Topic sentences for each paragraph	11/12	11/13	11/13	25 mins	Yes
	Major points, counterpoints, and refutations identified and appropriate data and sources collected.	11/18	11/17	11/18	10 mins	Yes
Drafting	First draft completed	11/20	11/25	11/27	180 mins	Yes
	All relevant points included and sources identified Quotations Introduced and integrated.				10 mins
Revising	Second draft	11/22	11/29	12/4	360 mins	Yes
	Transitions show how ideas relate				5 mins
Proofreading	Draft ready to be assessed for a grade	11/22 or 11/29*	12/5	12/5	10 mins	Yes
	*no revisions accepted			Total time	12 hrs. 20 mins

Essay 4

Olivia Stinson

Professor Kerr

EN 101-23

December 4, 2011

Can Corporal Punishment Cross the Line

            There are many parents, some even with organizational support (such as church groups) who will argue that physical discipline on children is acceptable and even necessary to properly raise them. The corporal punishment form of discipline can very easily cross the line into physical abuse or assault of a child. There are many different parenting styles. Parents who use physical punishment after their child does something wrong (spanking, slapping, flicking the child’s wrists/effects, etc.) do not think anything of it. They are simply teaching their child the difference between right and wrong. However, physical punishment hovers very close to the borderline of physical abuse.

Corporal punishment is a commonly discussed topic when raising a child. “There is a general consensus that corporal punishment is effective in getting children to comply immediately while at the same time there is caution from child abuse researchers that corporal punishment by its nature can escalate into physical maltreatment,” Elizabeth Gershoff, (Corporal). Gershoff is a student at Colombia University. She held eighty-eight studies that looked at both positive and negative behaviors in children when they were associated with corporal punishment. Throughout the studies she analyzed eleven different child behaviors and experiences (the relationship between the parent and child, once in adulthood will they abuse their own children, mental health, aggression, etc). The results were purely based off of the parents. It will vary in how frequently it is administered, how forcefully they administer it, how emotionally aroused they are, and whether they combine it with other punishments (or techniques). It is also determined by the frequency and the severity of the physical punishment. The more a child is hit, the more likely they are to be aggressive or to have mental health issues. Gershoff states that corporal punishment on its own does not teach children right from wrong and even though children obey their parents when they are around them (because they fear the consequences), when parents are not present to deliver the punishment those same children can misbehave. Depending on what specifically the parent does to physically discipline their child it could harm and physically damage the child to a certain degree. A psychologist named George Holden who teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, commented on Gershoff’s work to state, “Gershoff’s findings reflect the growing body of evidence that corporal punishment does not good and may even cause harm.” In some cases, physical punishment could fail in disciplining the child. Gershoff states, “Until researchers, clinicians, and parents can definitely demonstrate the positive effects of corporal punishment including effectiveness in halting future misbehavior, not just the absence of negative effects, we as psychologists can not responsibly recommend its use.” It can damage a child’s sense of self worth, and hurt their pride. A slap in the face or on the bottom can be extremely demeaning to a child and utterly embarrassing in front of others. This form of physical punishment could also confuse a child. Parents commonly teach their children not to kick or hit because it is wrong. However, parents are contradicting themselves when they inflict these “wrong doings” on their children to teach them a lesson.

The book “To Train Up a Child” written by Michael Pearl and his wife Debi Pearl has gotten some recent publicity on the popular talk show “Anderson.” The main purpose of this book is to properly train your child to obey your every command. To not question the parents decisions, to not do something when they are told and to follow orders. While on the talk show Pearl discusses how he trained his own children and started to use physical discipline on them at the age of two. Pearl states, “Proper training always works with every child. Out of ignorance many have bypassed training and expected discipline alone to effect proper behavior. It hasn’t worked and never will.” Pearl believes corporal punishment is an ideal form of disciplinary action and prevents future occurrence of bad behavior. No child will want to tempt bad behavior, they will end the incident because their fear of the physical pain that will undoubtedly follow. Pearl has been successful in training his five children with the use of physical discipline. He started training them when each child turned two years old and used different disciplinary methods to have his children understand the significance of associating the word no, with a negative response (a rubber switch that he would swat the back of their hands with). This method (corporal punishment) was successful in teaching his children discipline, and it helped them learn not to regularly attempt behavior that is frowned upon.

Corporal punishment could have serious long term effects for children socially, behavioral, and psychologically further down the road. Based off of the studies found in two private schools in West Africa, the children whose school participated in using corporal punishment as a disciplinary method performed worse when tested in abstract thinking, planning, and delayed gratification. It also affected the children’s verbal intelligence and executive functioning ability. For the final result these children may be at risk for behavioral problems. A professor who participated in the study (Victoria Talwar) states, “In the short term corporal punishment may not have any negative effects, but if relied upon over time it does not support children’s problem solving skills, their abilities to inhibit inappropriate behavior or to learn.” Physical punishment can also lead to horrible aggression, even if it was initially meant to stop the behavior, children do not always understand the difference between the physical aggression for which they’re getting punished (shoving, hitting, etc.) and the physical aggression received as punishment.

Discipline is teaching self-control. Self-control is necessary for a person to develop into a responsible individual. There is an equal amount of people who would agree corporal punishment is an effective form of discipline and others who would disagree it is nothing but harmful to the child. The proper form of discipline depends on what the parent feels is right and what would be the most effective on their child. If a parent feels it’s right to use physical punishment on their child and they have self-control no one can stop them to say they aren’t raising their child correctly, or accuse them of abuse unless there are the obvious signs. Corporal punishment should be at the back of the list when it comes to disciplinary methods/actions. It’s true if you use physical discipline on your child you will receive an immediate response from them however, it depends if that response is positive or negative. Once the parental figure is away there is an excellent chance the child learned nothing and the difference between what is right and what is wrong is still unclear.  

 Works Cited

Case, Holly. "Long-term Effects Of Physical Punishment On A Child”          LIVESTRONG.COM." LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools | LIVESTRONG.COM. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/213859-long-term-effects-of-physical-punishment-on-a-child/>.

Gershoff, Elizabeth. "Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline?" American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking.aspx>.

Pearl, Michael, and Debi Pearl. To Train up a Child. Pleasantville, TN: Pearl, 2006. Pg. 1-5. Print.