St. Augustine School Community Fights Over Paddling As Punishment (VIDEO)

At an intense debate Thursday over bringing corporal punishment back to a Catholic New Orleans school, an archbishop said paddling could cause emotional and physical harm. But those in attendance weren't having it.

The majority of St. Augustine High School faculty, administration, alumni, parents and even students are in favor of bringing the practice of padding back, WWL-TV reports. They spent four hours debating the topic town hall-style.

St. Augustine is part of the only diocesan school system -- of 175 nationwide -- that until this year, still practiced corporal punishment.

"Yes, I do think it should be allowed here," said Eunice Williams, a St. Augustine parent. "That's one of the reasons I sent my son to St. Aug. The system failed me with my other two sons, my older boys. And me disciplining them at home and asking the system for help and them slapping them on the hand did not help me."

WATCH:

Comments

[3 great kids]

10:18 AM on 03/04/2011

As a parent who have a son attending St. Augustine high school, I support copral punishment. In fact it is one of the reason's I choose to send my son to St. Augustine. I wanted him to have the discipline and structure we have in our home to continue in school. If you look at the public school system in New Orleans most of them lack discipline as well as structure. It is not the paddle that make individuals violent, but it is the lack of discipline and structure as well as the lack of respect for themselves and authority figures. Time out does not work for everyone. Look at who is committing the crimes today. It is our time out children. Why have the archodise not spoke out about the racial comments made by Brother Martin students and a facility member not been talked about.Why now do you want to stop discipline and structure that has been so successful in turning our boys into successful young men.There are so many other things you could be focused on with in other catholic schools that are considered major infractions. But instead you decide to bring a negative light upon a school that has produced successful, accomplished educated black men. Lets change the channel and move forward. Archbishop Ayma ( I apogolize if I mispelled your name) leave St. Augustine alone. If the tution paying parents are not complaining why should you.

[David Janus]

04:26 PM on 02/28/2011

As a former St. Augustine student, I found that paddling with the "board" (as it is popularly known) increases hazing in the classroom environment and violence outside of the classroom environment. Teaching young African-American men that they must hit someone or strike something to emphasize their point of view reduces their ability to socially integrate into the world of higher education, business, and family life. Teachers who regularly use "the board" to discipline St. Augustine students are often two-three times the student's size and inflict serious bodily and emotional harm. The only lessons learned from paddling with “the board” are to "take it like a man", solve your issues with a slap, and "don't get caught the next time you break a rule". If these are the lessons that we want young African-American men to learn, then my child will NOT be attending any institution like this, especially in the south where it is ironic that we have such a negative history of being beaten and whipped by former slave owners. Many of the graduates that I have run into over the years have suffered from alcoholism, spousal abuse, and have violence. Is this a skill we really want young impressionable African-American men to learn? I think not.

Also, the fact that trained educators need to resort to hitting as a form of instruction brings into question the quality of the teacher.

[LenaPagan]

12:03 PM on 02/28/2011

Discipline starts at home. That woman says: "The system failed me with my other two sons, my older boys. And me disciplining them at home and asking the system for help and them slapping them on the hand did not help me."

If you can't control your own children, why the heck did you have them in the first place??? It's not the school's job to deal with that kind of thing. The system failed her. Wth?

[3 great kids]

10:24 AM on 03/04/2011

I agree discipline does start at home, but remember it takes a village to raise children, do you know what that mean? If you don't here it is spelled out in plain english. You can discipline at home, but you eyes, ears, and the fear of god to keep them walking that straight line, or the devil will surely attack. Which means we also need discipline in our schools. We don't need students disrespecting teachers, principals and authority figures, and we certainly don't need metal detectors and guns and knives in our schools.

[LenaPagan]

02:55 PM on 03/18/2011

It still starts at home. I'm tired of people blaming schools and teachers. My parents raised me and my sister well, and no one ever had anything bad to say about us. There was some corporal punishment at home, yeah, but it was minimal. AT HOME.

This is all a load of B-S. If you can't control your child it's YOUR fault and yours alone. You are the parent. If you teach them well, they will behave well everywhere they go. I guess my parents were magical or something, because they never needed someone else to discipline us.

"We don't need students disrespect­ing teachers, principals and authority figures"

Of course we don't. And, again, education starts at home. It's a parent's job. I know many families where both parents work full time and yet their children are disciplined, polite, RESPECTFUL. Any parent who blames the system has only him/herself to blame.

[oilfield]

02:05 PM on 02/27/2011

this issue should be pro choice.

[joetrade]

10:51 AM on 02/27/2011

I don't have any particular problem with the practice of "paddling" as a means to enforce discipline in an unruly bunch of spoiled brats! What I would really like to see is this practice extended to the Federal government where the paddling of our errant lawmakers and executives could be viewed in public on some kind of a reality show! Of course I fully realize that a show of this nature would have to run non-stop twenty four seven!

[oilfield]

01:48 PM on 02/27/2011

some of them are in to this sort of thing....

[JTWallace]

09:58 AM on 02/27/2011

The reason Private Schools don't have problems with the issue of paddeling is, DESCIPLINE! They brook no disrespect of school rules. Parents are notified of any problem regarding their children's behavior or problems with grades. They send their kids there due to the myriad of problems kids have to deal with in public schools whose crime and disrespect of teachers and each other is an everyday, ongoing problem. The students don't get attention and participation of parents much less many teachers. Good teachers left the public sector for decades to take lower paying private school jobs. The problem of students with desciplinary problems is first at home. Then at school. No descipline at either place. The issue of paddeling may be too late.

[Ally707]

12:31 AM on 02/28/2011

Good Post, I so agree with you.

[pathofhumanity]

09:43 AM on 02/27/2011

All prospective parents should be required to take a parenting class where they learn about skills such as: logical consequences, communication skills, modeling and boundary setting. (to name a few) And teachers need the same. Paddling or hitting kids only teaches them that violence is ok.
It may work in the short term, because the kids will be afraid of you, but it creates longer term problems and does not teach self discipline.

[GlennWatson]

11:52 AM on 02/27/2011

Who would require this of parents, the government? No thanks.

[AbstractImp]

09:31 AM on 02/27/2011

Can we take it to C-Street?

[RedDogBear]

04:56 PM on 02/27/2011

I would bet they already do it there for fun

[NBPat]

09:17 AM on 02/27/2011

I have mixed feelings on the issue:

1 children need discipline, limits that are enforced to show the that they are loved, protected and must never go beyond a certain point. So, minor corporal punishment by school authorities is appropriate.

2 if you cannot raise your children to behave. Maybe you should not have children, at all. They are an expensive luxury and we do have the saying "most people should not have children".

[bobclapp1936]

09:03 AM on 02/27/2011

Surely waterboarding has proven that hitting, beating, smashing, drowning, etc. changes nothing but how to be a good liar.

[GlennWatson]

08:38 AM on 02/27/2011

Some kids need it, some kids don't.

[RedDogBear]

09:31 AM on 02/27/2011

No kids "need it". Some kids are raised in toxic dysfunctional environments by parents who don't have the patience or intelligence to use methods other than violence to enforce discipline.

[GlennWatson]

11:51 AM on 02/27/2011

All you did was describe a situation in which a kid might need it.

[ninetailedfox]

08:00 AM on 02/27/2011

I was spanked at school, the principal had a mean temper. once he threw a kid against the wall. Police investigated him many times, but he was never caught.

[ninetailedfox]

07:59 AM on 02/27/2011

Children that go to christian schools are sexually, mentally, and physically abused. This is one of several reasons why I deconverted. the biggest reason I am no longer christian, is because I no longer believe magic is evil, I care about myself as a female Native American, and I dont believe in the term "false christians"

[liberal123]

07:56 AM on 02/27/2011

Catholicism = child abuse