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The Practice Of Corporal Punishment In Schools

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For decades leading back to slavery, corporal punishment has been used as a form of discipline to correct misbehavior on the plantation. In today’s society, it has been used by parents and even incorporated into our schools as a form of punishment. In Kenyan schools it is used as form of classroom management and to punish children for poor academic performance (Kenyan children suffer frequent beatings by teachers, 1999). Corporal punishment, according to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, is the use of physical force with the intention to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. In schools, it mostly involves the use of the hand, a ruler or belt to strike a person across the back or hand. But it can also involve, for example, shaking, pinching or forcing students to stay in uncomfortable positions (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2006).
The practice of corporal punishment in schools as a form of discipline is dated back to ancient times (Greven, 1992). In the early civilizations of Egypt and Babylonia, the practice of physical punishment is related to the severity of the curriculum and atmosphere of schools. Also, it is recorded in history books, that corporal punishment was used in schools in the Western Judeo-Christian cultures. This is because in the Christian culture, as still been referred to and practiced today, many still believed in the scripture according to Proverbs 13 verse 24 which states one should not spare the road and spoil the

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