Corporal punishment in Beverly and Cambridge,
MA:
Just, or Just Plain Mean? by Joanie DiPietro
Abstract
Corporal Punishment was the main factor for discipline in
every school for centuries. It was practiced to keep children in line, but there
are many cases where children were beaten brutally and parents took a stand
against these heinous acts. Was corporal punishment the most efficient way to
keep children in line or did it make them more chaotic? This was proven by various
documents that discuss certain cases where teachers had taken advantage of their
right to use corporal punishment on pupils. Even during the 1800s there was
a fine line between corporal punishment and abuse, which as a result put teachers
on trial. School reports traced the evolution of corporal punishment and when
it ended. There are a few books published on the history of corporal punishment.
These helped to show the significance of the history of corporal punishment
because even though it is illegal in Massachusetts, it is still legal in twenty-three
states today. They showed how corporal punishment came to a close in certain
states, but did not affect other states. Corporal punishment seemed like it
was an ancient form of discipline, when in fact it did not end until 1982 and
is in some places still practiced. When corporal punishment was legal it was
a major part of children's everyday education because when teachers inflicted
physical pain on a student they became intimidated by the teacher and kept in
line.
