page_title: School discipline
section_title: Corporal punishment
hierarchical_section_title: School discipline / Corporal punishment
caption_attribution_description: English: Cartoon of students receiving the cane, 1888 Cartoon drawing of two students receiving the cane from Mr J. S. Kerr. One boy has just been caned and sucks his fingers. The other boy stretches out his hand for punishment. A blackboard lies on the ground with a chalk drawing depicting 'Old Kerr'. Caption reads: Kerr on the Cane; or Cane and Cure. 'Strict discipline must be insisted upon, even to the extent of corporal punishment. No punishment is so economical of time. and so stimulating as the cane.' - J. S. Kerr's Essay (delivered to the East Moreton Teachers' Association) on 'The Teacher and his Position'.
context_page_description: School discipline relates to the actions taken by a teacher or the school organization towards a student when the student's behavior disrupts the ongoing educational activity or breaks a rule created by the school. Discipline can guide the children's behaviour or set limits to help them learn to take better care of themselves, other people and the world around them.
  School systems set rules, and if students break these rules they are subject to discipline. These rules may, for example, define the expected standards of school uniform, punctuality, social conduct, and work ethic. The term "discipline" is applied to the punishment that is the consequence of breaking the rules. The aim of discipline is to set limits restricting certain behaviors or attitudes that are seen as harmful or against school policies, educational norms, school traditions, etc. The focus of discipline is shifting and alternative approaches are emerging due to notably high dropout rates and disproportionate punishment upon minority students.
context_section_description: Throughout the history of education, the most common means of maintaining discipline in schools was corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a substitute parent, with many forms of parental discipline or rewards open to them. This often meant that students were commonly chastised with the birch, cane, paddle, strap or yardstick if they did something wrong. Around 69 countries still use school corporal punishment.
  Corporal punishment in schools has now disappeared from most Western countries, including all European countries. In the United States, corporal punishment is not used in public schools in 34 states, banned in 31, permitted in 19, of which only 16 actually have school districts actively administering corporal punishment. Every U.S. state except New Jersey and Iowa permits corporal punishment in private schools, however an increasing number of private schools have abandoned the practice, especially Catholic schools, nearly all of which now ban. Thirty-one U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia have banned it from public schools, most recently New Mexico in 2011. The other 19 states (mostly in the South) continue to allow corporal punishment in public schools. Of the 19 which permit the practice, three – Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming have no public schools that actually use corporal punishment as of 2016. Paddling is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it, though many choose not to do so.
  Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries.
  Most mainstream schools in most other countries retain punishment for misbehavior, but it usually takes non-corporal forms such as detention and suspension.
  In China, school corporal punishment was completely banned under the Article 29 of the Compulsory Education Act of the People's Republic of China, but in practice, beating by schoolteachers is still common, especially in rural areas.
  In Australia, school corporal punishment has been banned in public schools in all states, but as of 2019, it is still permitted in private schools in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
caption: A cartoon picture that shows students receiving "Corporal Punishment."
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