i was reading the school handbook today and it states that unless the parent notifies the school in writing the parent is giving permission for corporal punishment to be used.
so i am working on that letter.
i am angry that had i not happened to read the handbook page for page i never would have known my children could be subjected to this.
i want to be clear that corporal punishment absolutely will not be used on my children...but i don't want my anger to come across in this letter. i don't want to be a problem from day 1, kwim?
what i want to write is something like this:
how dare you assume you can hit my child unless i tell you not to! should i also mention that i don't want you to call them stupid, spit on them, curse at them, lock them in closets...gggggrrrrr...hit my child with a weapon you call a paddle and you will face charges of aggravated assault.
obviously i am not going to do that, but i do not want there to be any loop hole in it either. i have already searched the net for a form letter and there doesn't seem to be one.
Here I found this one , it's not great but I'll keep looking.
Sample Letter to My Child's Teacher
Use the sample below to write your own letter to your child's teacher.
Dear __________,
Our family does not believe that school children should be disciplined by paddling. We believe that it sends children the message that hitting people is a way to solve problems.
We know that our child will make mistakes. When that happens, we hope you will help our child learn what is appropriate behavior and how to act more appropriately in the future. If you are having problems with our child, please contact me/us and I/we will make every effort to come to school to help you. Do not paddle our child.
This whole topic is really depressing though. I had no idea that it was still done anywhere.
Personally my letter would say:
Dr Sir/Madam,
I am writing to inform you that you do not have my permission to use corporal punishment on my child. If my child is ever physically harmed by a member of the school staff I will pull them out of school and bring charges of pysical endangerment and psychological abuse.
Thank you very much for understanding.
__________________
שלןם
Liba, mommy to:
Zlata Tova 5/6/98, Tziporah Faiga 1/12/01, Esther Rivka 7/13/04 and Avraham Chaim 7/02/06
Avraham Chaim and Flat Stanley vegetable shopping.
as a teacher it is totally out of my realm of thinking. I am shocked and appalled, I can't even come up with a letter. Is this a public school????? Do they beat the children with their hand, a strap, where do they hit them? With what? Do they slap them??? What is considered okay and not okay?? What if a teacher gets out of control??? Are bruises allowed??? Pushing??? Name calling??? How do they teach conflict resolution between children?? Is hitting allowed on the playground or is only the trusted 'adult' allowed to hit the kids??
Oh my god I'm so worn out from thinking about Andrea Yates thing, this one has me riled up again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Knowing me--honestly, this is what I'd do. Wait for back to school night when I can question the principal in front of the other parents with my above questions--thoughtfully, clearly, one by one and note what she says in response to each one. I might even record it. If there isn't an opportunity at back to school night, I'd make an appt right away, make sure you have a witness so you don't go off the deep end (cause I would!!)
I would then take the tape and my written questions to my friendly neighborhood reporter. (who is my dh!! LOL)
That's all I have to say about that.....
__________________
~Meg~ teacher, podcaster, but mostly sahm to my trio of little women (4, 6, 17)wife to Mr Big and dog-ma to Indy the crazy miniature golden retriever
Our school system has a form to fill out. You can opt in or out of several different disciplines. We've always opted out of corporal punishment (DUH!!) The others are all reasonable - detention, notes home, saturday school.
Check with your system, maybe?
Sigh.
__________________
Denise
Mama of three by adoption and birth (ages 18, 15 and 13)
a form letter seems like a no-brainer to me but they don't have it.
here's the policy:
Corporal punishment is permitted in order to preserve and effective educational environment free from disruption. Corporal punishment shall be reasonable and moderate and may not be administered maliciously or for the purpose of revenge. Before administering corporal punishment, such factors as the size, age, sex, physical, mental, and emotional condition of the student shall be considered. These factors will serve as determinates for the type of instrument and the amount of force to be used.
However, the teacher and principal will honor a parent's request that discipline methods other than corporal punishment be used.
Parents not wanting corporal punishment administered on their child must bring and signed and dated note stating that fact. If no note is received, it is assumed that corporal punishment is an acceptable form of punishment for their child. A new request must be received each school year.
Corporal punishment will be limited to paddling the student and governed by the following conditions:
1. The student will be told the reason for the corporal punishment.
2. Only the superintendent or principal may administer corporal punishment.
3. The instrument to be used will be approved by the superintendent.
4. Corporal punishment will be administered in the presence of one other district professional employee and out of view of the other students.
Unbelievable. I am amazed that any school district has a corporal punishment policy, truly amazed. Our sixth grade teacher had a paddle, but I was fortunate enough to have never experienced it. I would not only write the letter, but I would also take up the issue with the district office. Talk to other parents in the attempt to see if this policy can be changed. I imagine there are parents out there who don't read "the fine print" and aren't even aware this policy exists.
Very sad....
__________________
Look mom, I can fly!
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The US will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressor.
George W. Bush
January 2, 2005
_______________________________
it feels good to know i am not alone in being outraged about this.
here is my letter to them:
Re: Corporal Punishment, Erin ******
To: ************** Independent School District
Fr: Earl and Danica *******
Date: September 3, 2002
Our family does not practice physical punishment in any form.
We realize that Erin will make mistakes while entrusted in the care of the school district. When that happens, we hope you will help her learn what is appropriate behavior and how to act more appropriately in the future. If you are having problems with her please contact us and we will come to school to help you.
Do not administer corporal punishment on Erin.
thanks for finding the letter and for all the support. I printed one for each child on bright yellow paper and will be hand delivering these today.
Well, just to make you even more unhappy I'll tell you a little story. I was a spanked child, but my parents felt they were the only ones that had that response ability. When I started public school in 1976 I had my note that said very clearly "Do not spank Elizabeth ever" signed by both parents.
One day in First Grade I was really bad, but it was understandable (very long story involving a teacher having a class chant degrading things at me and point at me and laugh). I called my teacher the 'b' word. I was taken to the principles office and sat down. Now, lucky for me the principles secretary was a congregant of my Dad's so the second she saw me she called Dad. It wasn't soon enough. I got spanked with a paddle. Did I mention that my Dad had taught me how to read upside down? My *open* file with the slip on top was laying on the top of the principles desk while he was spanking me.
Needless to say, my parents flipped out. Nothing like seeing a man in full clergy uniform threatening to kill a principle.
Did I mention that we home school? : )
__________________
Elizabeth
Mama to Annabelle who is making me feel ancient now that she's EIGHT!
Last edited by IBelieveInFae : 06-30-2008 at 02:36 AM.
Originally posted by Hindsight I *really* didn't think that corporal punishment in the public school system was legal anymore! That truley amazes me . . .
It is still legal in 23 states. It's been a bit of an issue here with the recent appointment of a new director to our Children & Families Department.
Location: enjoying my coffee. i love coffee. did i tell you that i love coffee?
Posts: 2,440
i think this is a very important thread.
danica and anyone else who has corporal punishment in their school handbooks (if it is allowed in your state, i am begging you to find out if your district approves of this), you need to find out when your next school board *work session* is by calling your superintendents office. don't bother going to a meeting unless you have to- this is mostly formalized voting on topics that were already discussed in the work session.
one week before the work session, you should write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining that corporal punishment is allowed in your district, along with facts and information from some of the great sites listed above. then let everyone know that you will be going to the school board work session and the time and date.
you could even go as far as copying off information from the websites, and then passing them out to each of the board members, or better yet sending them to the school district before the meeting so they will have time to look the information over....
this is also something that should be taken up with your local state representitive- if i find a site that shows your local rep, i will post it later.
I really am in shock reading this thread! It just never occurred to me that this was still going on! It doesn't in our school district...of course, we are in California, home of the politically correct.
Still, I have not heard of this happening since the stories my mom used to tell me about getting it in school...amazing!
This should be outlawed and if it was happening in my state/district, whatever, that would be my next step.
I have never hit my child, EVER, and no one else is going to, either!
I sympathize with you on this. We too have had to do the same thing. One word of advice though, hopefully I'm not coming on here too late (after you've already delivered your letter)... when we did ours, we cc'd our attorney, making sure to use Mr. X, Esquire. It didn't cost us anything, we just sent a copy along to our attorney's office (we just used the lawyer dh uses for his business). But this let the school know that we were serious about our rights and I think it makes them less likely to "forget". Also, we have given the school a long letter detailing how we wish certain issues to be handled regarding our child. Living in TX, there are a lot of things you should be aware of regarding things schools can do with regards to your children. If you want more info about this, pm me or email me at res0xtyh@verizon.net
Did this make a good first impression for us with the school administrators? Absolutely not... *but* it opened up the lines of discussion and after we sat down at a meeting with them (at their request) and explained our concerns, they actually listened and while they may not have agreed with everything we said, they did respect our decisions and we developed a very good and open relationship with both the principal and assistant principal. Unfortunately, they both left to head a new school in the district this year.... so we have to start again with new administration.
For those who are shocked that this is an issue today... it isn't just Danica's school district... corporal punishment in school is allowable by state law in Texas :rolleyes Some districts specifically outlaw it, but our district unfortunately leaves the decision up to the individual schools within the district, so the policy can change year to year depending upon who is in charge of the school.
help with a letter?
thanks for your help and support
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