Rep. Alma Allen introduced HB 471 which will abolish corporal punishment in Texas schools. She is vice-chair of the Public Education committee which is the first stop for this bill. Ask them to support and sponsor HB 471. Thanks, Jimmy 2-4-13
I am going to school board meeting Mon. Sept. 24, 2012, 7:30pm to ask Barbers Hill ISD to abolish school paddling as it is legalized child abuse.
PS: I went to board meeting and spoke but board gave no reaction.
Jimmy Dunne
Employment/Experience Summary
Long time advocate for children, Jimmy Dunne, is interviewed in Houston on Fox TV. Click on the photo to watch the short video. Jimmy is wearing a shirt for the organization he founded, POPS – People Opposed to Paddling Students. Bob
I would respond to anyone who asked about the lobbying piece, that we are not asking them to lobby in support of legislation to end school corporal punishment, but instead what we are asking is if they would be willing to take a position/stand against school corporal punishment/paddling. If they would, in their professional and/or personal capacity, make a statement that we have permission to use and quote their position against the practice, and if they can work with their agency, professional organization, membership organization, etc. to make a statement and/or policy calling for an end to school corporal punishment.
In some cases, we have school administrators or superintendents who would like to see the policy banned although the school board votes to keep it in the district. Using the school administrator/superintendent's position statement helps people to see that not everyone within that district is in favor of the policy.
Don't let them shy away from taking a position on the issue just because they can't lobby. They are in the position of educating --- and that means the public, parents and policy makers as well as students.
Remind them that their colleagues in Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, etc. are very successful in educating students, maintaining classroom control and discipline, promoting positive peer culture and volunteerism, etc. without any threat or use of corporal punishment. The great colleges and universities in the state that have stellar teacher education training programs do not teacher future educators how to paddle or inflict pain and harm on students.
Deborah Sendek, Prevention Specialist with National Child Protection Training Center, Columbus, Ohio.
Boy hurt at school, principal being investigated
Parents accuse him of hitting their son with a paddle
A 6th grader at Nottingham Middle School in Dayton was treated for a dislocated tailbone and severe bruising. Dalton Day's parents said his injuries are the result of being hit with a paddle at school.
"I'm devastated," said Lisa Day, the boy's mother. "He pulled his pants down and what I saw was the paddle board across his bottom."
Day said the outline of the paddle was marked across her son's backside and that he was bleeding. Day also has photographs and x-rays that she said proves these allegations.
"I gave him permission," she said. "I expected maybe a red bottom but not this excessive."
According to Day, she received a call Friday afternoon because her son had misbehaved in class and had gotten into a shoving match with another student. Day gave the principal permission to paddle her son as a form of discipline.
The superintendent of the Dayton Independent School District told Local 2 the district allows corporal punishment, but the parents have an option to allow it or not.
"I thought maybe it would help Dalton realize this is serious, quit being a class clown," Day said. She also admitted her son had been paddled before but that he didn't have any lasting injuries or pain afterward.
"The same man popped Dalton once before but it was fine," she said.
This time Day said it wasn't fine, and her son said he was hit hard.
"I looked back and he was standing in a baseball stance," said Dalton Day. "He swung with both hands."
The 12-year-old said he was wearing blue jeans the day he was hit and that the principal used a paddle made out of wood, about an inch think and 18 inches long. It was allegedly wrapped in blue electrical tape.
The family filed a report with the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office because they provide security for the school. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also confirmed to Local 2 they are investigating.
Dayton ISD said in a statement, "Dayton ISD is doing an investigation into a parent's report about their 6th grade student receiving corporal punishment at school. They allege that the pops were excessive in nature and that their child was injured. As soon as the investigation is complete, more information will be available."
Day would like the district to rethink its policy.
"I don't want it to happen at any other schools or to any other kids."
Copyright 2013 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jimmy Dunne on KRIV Ch-26 FOX news in Houston, 12.1.10 5pm news about rally against school paddling at Texas capitol in Austin, Friday, Dec. 3, 3:30-6:30pm. Your support there is needed.
“I believe that corporal punishment should be abolished. Period. End of story,” declared 11 year-old Dawn Ford, of Dallas, Texas at the first Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline advocates, and youth from 21 nations--strongly agree.
From birth, children have the right to the same respect accorded to all persons. They deserve—and need—to live in a peaceful, loving, and secure environment.
Corporal punishment in all its forms, including what is called “spanking, smacking, paddling, etc.” has no place in our schools or homes.
We urge all parents, caregivers, educators, communities, and nations to end all forms of corporal punishment of children and embrace the safe, just, and effective alternative: positive discipline.
Adopted unanimously by proclamation at the end of the first Corporal Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline
Global Summit On Ending Corporal. We--academics, professionals,Global Summit on Ending, Dallas, TX, June 4, 2011
Education
Op-Ed for Newspapers; June 9, 2011
I attended the first Global Summit on Ending Corporal Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline June 2-4 hosted by S.M.U. and psychology professor George Holden, PhD in Dallas. Attending were activists representing twenty one countries who are dedicated to abolishing all forms of spanking, paddling, slapping, hitting and smacking of children world wide. We discussed studies that show corporal punishment produces no positive outcomes and is associated with increased aggression, as well as behavior and mental health problems. It also fosters lower IQ, poorer academic performance, and increased bullying.
Currently twenty nine nations have passed laws banning corporal punishment of children in homes beginning with Sweden in 1979. Ask any group of adults if they would like to be hit and the answer will always be no. Being hit is painful, humiliating and can cause injuries. If anyone hits an adult, whether a friend, stranger or spouse they will likely be arrested and charged with assault.
Children do not have this equal protection under the law but they should. It is perfectly legal in Texas for parents and caregivers to whip children with bare hands, paddles, extension cords and belts because of a misguided law passed six years ago. It also legal to paddle school children with wooden paddles in Texas even though it is against the law in thirty one more progressive states. Thankfully the Texas legislature recently passed Rep. Alma Allen's HB 359 which gives parents the right to deny corporal punishment for their children as a discipline measure in districts that still allow this discredited policy. The bill awaits Gov. Rick Perry's signature.
At the Dallas conference, I talked to people from London, Paris, Israel, Thailand, Ethiopia, Australia and New Zealand who are all working to end corporal punishment of children.
Research shows that corporal punishment is ineffective as discipline and poses only risks to children's development. Sixty five percent of three year olds in a sample of nearly 2,000 families had been "spanked" by one or both parents in the previous month.
A study which tracked corporal punishment of 3-11 year olds from 1975 to 2002, found that 18% fewer children were slapped or spanked by caregivers in 2002 compared with 1975. However, in 2002, 79% of preschool-aged children were spanked and nearly half of children aged eight and nine were hit with an object such as a paddle or switch.
Parents are role models for children's behavior. When we hit, slap or spank, we are teaching our children to hit. When we cuss, children learn to curse.
Violence hampers children's development, learning abilities and school performance. It inhibits positive relationships, promotes low self-esteem, emotional distress and depression.
When you finish reading this article, just remember the following: 1) It is never OK to hit a child. 2) Spanking teaches children to hit. 3) People are not for hitting and children are people too. 4) It is no more acceptable to hit your child than to hit your spouse. 5) Children deserve the same respect and protection under the law that adults enjoy.
Jimmy Dunne, Pres. People Opposed to Paddling Students, Houston, TX 77077 281.584.9707 www.nospankingzone.org
