Today, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine the progress states and schools districts have made toward ensuring that every child is taught by an effective teacher. Current law requires states to make sure teacher talent is distributed fairly in school districts, so that all children – including poor and minority children – have access to outstanding teachers.
The Obama administration has already taken steps toward improving teacher equity. In order to be eligible for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states are required to take steps to place effective teachers in the classrooms that need them most.
The hearing page has a complete list of all witnesses.
The Obama administration has already taken steps toward improving teacher equity. In order to be eligible for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states are required to take steps to place effective teachers in the classrooms that need them most.
The hearing page has a complete list of all witnesses.
Dear Chairman Miller
Teacher Equity should include teachers highly trained to use positive behavior supports in every school district in the land. Unfortunately the sad truth is that 20 states in the Nation still paddle school children. Effective teachers understand equitable classroom management skills which should never include physical corporal punishment, such as what is currently allowed in the State of Georgia. I continue to hope and pray that we, the people, see a measure introduced to ban corporal punishment in the 20 remaining states that allow it. Too many children are being harmed.
Progressive school boards and state legislatures recognize that Physical/Corporal Punishment of Children in Schools is falling out of favor worldwide and have banned paddling, opting to train educators in and implement proven more effective school-wide positive behavior support discipline methods. Corporal Punishment of Children in Schools is an outmoded, ineffective and dangerous practice that has been banned in more than l00 countries. It puts school districts at risk for lawsuits for paddling injuries, which is the main reason many districts already have abandoned it.
Research indicates that spanking lowers children’s IQ’s. Research on toddlers and other studies following children into adolescence found Physical Punishment was BAD FOR CHILDREN and made them more likely to show anti-social behavior. Children who were exposed to physical discipline most frequently were two to three times more likely to show anti-social behavior as an adolescent, including things like getting into fights, being disobedient at home or at school, general delinquency and being in trouble with teachers. Violence begets violence is a lesson from history not just child psychology." Over 50 National Children’s Health and Safety Organizations are OPPOSED to School Corporal Punishment including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Bar Association, the National PTA (Parent Teacher Association), National Education Association, among others. There are positive, nonviolent approaches to school discipline that have been proven to lead to safe environments in which children can learn. Positive behavioral supports teach children why what they did was wrong and gives them the tools necessary to improve their behavior. The staff in our schools must be trained on how to discipline children effectively and humanely.
Physical Punishment of schoolchildren is NOT Education’s "Best Practice" as it is ILLEGAL in 30 STATES. U.S. Congress is holding hearings on Abusive and DEADLY practices in SCHOOLS and MUST ABOLISH Physical/Corporal Punishment Nationwide of ALL Children in ALL Schools, The Cost is $0. Pushing for anything less than an outright ban on all forms of classroom abuse reveals a gap in the administration's professed commitment to making schools better, safer, and stronger.
Does a Teachers Code of Ethics exist? Does school paddling conflict with federal health and safety laws, especially concerning child development? (Several research reports and national children's health and education organizations are opposed to school corporal punishment, how can any government official ignore these facts?)
If a federal lawsuit were filed for failure to protect children in schools, even the ones who are only subjected to witnessing threats with wooden paddles and overhearing or witnessing physical punishment being administered on classmates which creates a punitive learning environment full of fear, anxiety and dread and causes stress, the U.S. Supreme Court may rule on the case. School CP is wide open to abuse and interpretation. It's just plain not good for children, what about constitutional rights of individuals (kidsRpeople2) to privacy over their own body? CP causes physical, emotional and psychological stress, harm and injury.