Category Archives: society

Is it ok for teachers to use corporal punishment? Discuss.

Schoolboy receiving bare bottom birching, from...
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I left the following comment on a blog entry about corporal punishment in (UK) schools (I’ve reposted it here so that I can add stuff and edit the writing).

A succinct summary, with rebuttals, of the various arguments against corporal punishment. The non-aggression axiom provides a principled argument to the responses which blog-author OldAndrew lists as being often made against corporal punishment:
1) that it is wrong in principle to harm students: it is legitimate to use force in retaliation or in self-defence (I would take “retaliation” to include the notion of punishment);
2) the pacifist objection: corporal punishment is wrong because it is violence: see 1);
3) that corporal punishment didn’t work: the notion that “force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use” supports OldAndrew’s point that Punishment serves not to eliminate sin but to increase justice by inflicting a penalty on those who deserve it.

In addition, the non-aggression axiom would free teachers to use physical force in self-defence and/or in retaliation, i.e. punishment, an autonomy that seems to me sorely needed (and not just in schools, I might add): even acts of self-defence are likely to see a teacher end up in court and fired.

Some will no doubt argue that this would open the flood gates to abuse of the sanction. OldAndrew has already replied to this argument. I would only add that, if parents disagree with the school’s policies they should be free to not send their children there.

Photo by BaboMike on Flickr
Photo by BaboMike on Flickr

In Japanese public high schools, corporal punishment is allowed, though there is quite a lot of debate about this. Corporal punishment is traditionally the responsibility of the P.E. teachers. They are usually big and tough, accustomed to physical contact and not so easily intimidated by hulking high-schooling boys. I’ve seen such teachers cuff students around the head, either with their bare hands or with clipboards. Other punishment is usually being made to kneel in seiza (see photo), sometimes with arms held aloft for long periods; or push ups, or laps around the sports ground. I think straps, canes, etc., are banned.The only book in English that I have read that discusses punishment in Japanese schools in any detail is The Japanese High School by Shoko Yoneyama. She discusses it in the context of bullying and other violence in schools. She mentions some of the spartan school rules, such as no dyed hair, length of hair (for boys and girls) specified down to the millimetre, colour and size of bags, etc., and punishment for being late. Almost all Japanese schools have a heavy main gate that slides on wheels and looks  like this:

Photo by Junicci on Flickr

Teachers stand by the gate and greet students in the morning, and then close the gate when the bell rings. As you can imagine, there’s sometimes a rush of students squeezing in at the last minute before the gate closes completely. In one infamous incident, an overzealous, careless teacher squashed a girl to death, pinning her between the gate and the wall.

Elementary school gate, Japan
Photo by ykanazawa 1999 on Flickr

The incident was national news, and Yoneyama mentions it in her book as an example of violence from adults to students that, in her opinion, is part of a pattern of violence and power-plays that is then played out by students on other students in bullying. Yoneyama points out that in many cases of bullying, a group of bullies (the lone bully is hardly found in collectivist Japan!) picks on someone for “standing out” in some way, such as having a bag that is not quite the regulation colour, or hair not quite the regulation length. Yoneyama’s point was that children bully others in exactly the same ways that they are “bullied” by the adults in school.

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"2-channel gives Japan’s famously quiet people a mighty voice" – Wired

I’d never heard of 2-channel, but I’m interested in anything that gives Japanese people a voice, so I clicked on the link to this wired.com article. If you live in Japan, and/or are interested in social networking in this country, read on. Here are some excerpts:

The 2-channel forum is a Japanese internet phenomenon. This single site has more influence on Japanese popular opinion than the prime minister, the emperor and the traditional media combined. On one level, it serves as a fun, informative place for people to read product reviews, download software and compare everything from the size of their poop to quiz show answers. But conversations hosted here have also influenced stock prices, rallied support for philanthropic causes, organized massive synchronized dance routines, prevented terrorism and driven people to their deathbeds.

“2-channel stirs the naked heroism that lives in every individual,” says Keisuke Suzuki, the author of several books on Japanese internet culture. “This can be dangerous, but in a community where you can’t ordinarily express your true feelings because of its restrictions, it’s really important.”

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Web/School2.0 – what’s it good for?

I just posted the following comment on Chris Lehmann’s blog. See, I’d just read Pissed Off, and then read Chris Lehmann’s entry, and the incongruity hit me. I had to say something. What do you think?



I’m a sucker for technology. I blog, read blogs, use Google Reader daily. Love it. But reading this post by Pissed Off Teacher (and then this one) just totally depressed me. Ruined my day. Can technology help here, or is it just insultingly irrelevant? I would suggest that if it can’t help in this practical and political matter, then School2.0 or whatever you want to call it isn’t worth much. Is Web2.0 just mental masturbation, something to stave off the boredom in between leaving our comfortable middle-class homes and returning to them in the evening? Or is it able to make a difference in the face of this kind of (to my mind) criminal negligence (and bureaucratic, systemic negligence, which is far harder to identify and root out)?



I’m sure this teacher is not alone or in a unique situation. Solidarity and legal advice, perhaps financial support seem to be needed here.




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