| What’s best for a child? Two leading child advocates discuss UCPS’s corporal punishment policy by Alison Woo editor@unioncountyweekly.com To spank or not to spank your child is a personal decision. But the decision to keep, augment or remove a corporal punishment policy in Union County Public Schools is a public one. UCPS enacted a moratorium on corporal punishment in 2004. But spurred by vocal opposition, the threat of a lawsuit and a new season at the school board, the policy will be revisited when UCPS’s board convenes Jan. 2. In the past, the conversation has been a polarizing one. But leading the charge, from both sides, are two Deans: Waxhaw resident Peggy Dean has been the face and voice against the policy; newly elected UCPS school chairman Dean Arp says he personally believes in the policy but hopes that a compromise can be made by the public. Mom with a mission A registered nurse and the mother of four, Peggy Dean is a woman with a mission. “I wake up every day wondering how I can effect positive change for these kids,” she said. “I’m that committed to following through for this cause.” The road to becoming an advocate started in 2003 after an incident on a school bus involving her son, who was then in eighth grade at Weddington Middle School. Dean said her son was touched inappropriately on a school bus and, after describing the incident to an administrator, was suspended for using graphic language. Dean said her biggest frustration came from the fact that she found UCPS’s description of its discipline policy to be unclear. The policy (posted on the UCPS Web site) states: “Students are responsible for knowing the offenses and discipline/ consequences set in the policies. … Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action to be determined by the school.” As Dean’s attempts to obtain clarification on the policy failed, she launched her own investigation. “I realized that they were not compliant with state law and there was no list of what offenses could result in being struck,” she said. “I feel like it’s my right to put my four children in public schools without the threat of having them being struck by the boards.” Union County Weekly asked UCPS whether there was a list of what a student would have to do in order to merit a punishment. Luan Ingram, UCPS spokeswoman, said, “No, this was principal discretion and primarily done on parent request.” She also said that since the moratorium on the policy, UCPS has not seen a rise in school suspensions or expulsions. North Carolina is one of 22 states in the country that has a corporal punishment policy. The state law says this: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-390 (2005). School personnel may use reasonable force, including corporal punishment, to control behavior or to remove a person from the scene in those situations when necessary. … N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-391 (2005). The policies for the administration of corporal punishment shall include at a minimum the following conditions: (1) Corporal punishment shall not be administered in a classroom with other children present; (2) The student body shall be informed beforehand what general types of misconduct could result in corporal punishment; (3) Only a teacher, substitute teacher, principal or assistant principal may administer corporal punishment … and (4) An appropriate school official shall provide the child’s parent or guardian with notification that corporal punishment has been administered. Also, each local board shall publish all the policies mandated by this subsection and make them available to each student and his parent or guardian at the beginning of each school year. Dean contends that by failing to put the offenses in writing, UCPS is in violation of state law. “The problem is not unique to Union County,” Dean said. “What we’ve found is when state laws allow the use of corporal punishment, there are very few safeguards in place.” She’s also become somewhat of an expert on the topic. “I’m working on it locally, statewide and on the national level,” she said. “Because of my advocacy here in Union County, I’ve been selected to be on the Board of Directors of a national organization (Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education) to help provide balance in education.” But as her focus continues here at home, she has hired an attorney, who has written several letters to the board asking them for a written list of offenses and to comply with state law. It’s also why she spoke out at December’s board meeting to request revision of the policy. Different strokes for different folks The man who’s charged with listening to those pleas is UCPS’s chairman of the board, Dean Arp. Arp, who has been on the board since 2000, said the time for conversation about the issue has come. “Everyone agrees there need to be some changes made,” he said. “The first thing is that we’re trying to get a feel with the current board make-up if we’re going to be split 5-4 again. We need a majority of 6-3 to make a change.” Union County’s significant growth also has affected the age-old policy. “I think people are coming at their issues (from perspectives that) they have been accustomed to,” Arp added. “We have a large influx of people and values. I don’t know that that’s wrong; it’s just different. The thing that I get frustrated with is that if you have a different opinion about (corporal punishment), then it makes (you) such an evil person. The rhetoric is not normally tied in with issues that we see.” Arp says that as the new leader of the school board, he hopes there can be a middle ground.” I think there’s a place for compromise, that it really doesn’t depend upon your view, and we can write the policy so that there is an appropriate discipline for your child.” ‘Troika of responsibility’ That new policy would call for a shared partnership between parent, teacher and school administrator. “To me, it hinges on the fundamental relationship between a parent and that teacher and the administrator to make that decision; I don’t think anyone else should be involved – it’s a troika of responsibility,” Arp explained. “What I’m trying to do is craft a solution where it accomplishes what both want – a win-win solution. The only people it will not satisfy are the ones who are against it philosophically and want it to be done away with and the ones who do not want parents to have that choice. That for me is a tough one.” Arp, whose two children attend Piedmont High and Middle schools, says he wants to find middle ground even though his own personal dictates are different. “My personal view is that there is a place for corporal punishment,” he said. “My view is that it is not unloving. It is consistent with how some people discipline at home and that consistency is very important. I want (my children) to recognize their teachers as authority figures because they provide a consistent figure of corrective behavior. There’s also a religious component to it.” Spare the rod, spoil the child? The religious and cultural roots of corporal punishment are deeply embedded in the region. Proverbs 13-24 from the Bible says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son.” The book, “The History of Torture Throughout the Ages” by George Ryley Scott suggests that the practice of “paddling” was invented during slavery in an effort to maximize punitive effectiveness without leaving permanent evidence of brutality on the bodies of slaves, thereby diminishing their resale value. More recently, the Office of Civil Rights, a branch of the Department of Education, found that proportionately more districts in the Southeast administer corporal punishment than do districts in any other region. The Southeast led the way by a majority. Sixty-eight percent of districts indicated they administer corporal punishment. The smallest frequency was found in the Northeast, where only 4 percent of districts reported allowing students to be physically disciplined. In the West, 38 percent of districts administer corporal punishment, and in the central region, 27 percent do so. Arp says it’s hard to know if Dean’s views speak for all parents and are a sign of the times or if corporal punishment may be here to stay. “I hope that people can look at the issue dispassionately to hear people and not qualify their worth on one issue. This whole thing is about the discipline of a child and, by nature, that’s a very private thing.” The next UCPS school board meeting is Monday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m., at Central Academy for Technology and Arts, 600 Brewer Drive, Monroe. |
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