discussion essay about corporal punishment

Name : Yoanda Febti Ardyan
Reg.numb : 54623
Class : K4 10
Discussion Essay about corporal punishment

Discipline or Disobedience

What is in your mind if you hear about corporal punishment for student? You absolutely argue that it is a kind of criminal action at school which must be prevented. One of the worst cases in this century is corporal punishment which is given by the teacher to student. The American College Dictionary, 1953 Edition, defines corporal punishment as "physical injury inflicted on the body of one convicted of a crime, and including the death penalty, flogging, sentence to a term of years, etc." Indeed, corporal punishment is not a new issue from education, but is it allowed or not to punish children by beating, caning or spanking to be discipline? Until now, corporal punishment is still being controversy by teachers, students and parents. To convince you about how corporal punishment actually, the following reasons will show what the bad and good effects of corporal punishment to student.


The first reason to stop corporal punishment is it absolutely affects to physic of student. The violence which uses with beating, caning, flogging, hitting, paddling, slapping and many more the psychical punishments can cause the fatality effect from body, such as bruise, abrasion, swollen, and bone fracture. Dr. Elliston Rahming, the owner and director of the school in America, is also a criminologist, said that in education, there will be no corporal punishment in any kind. Teachers have to find more effective ways than beating to enforce discipline. Because teachers is not a thug, they should not do the violence.


The second reason to ignore corporal punishment at school is it surely impacts to mental student. Philip Greven in his book Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse argues that corporal punishment can affect to psychic in a long period, for example amnesia, anxiety, depression, phobia, and the deep trauma. Moreover, it will influence to children behavior. They will imitate the action what they get from their teacher to others. Of course, it will be bad of the child’s mental development.


In spite of the several bad effects of corporal punishment, there is one of the advantages for student. Corporal punishment is a way to instill discipline in children. It is not weird if the teacher ever does violence to his or her student who does not obey with the rule, because it will make the student being afraid to do it anymore. Not only that, the student will be success for the next years. For instance, Mr. Purwanto, a teacher in one of an elementary school in West Java, told that he had a student who was very tough and disobedient, so he often did corporal punishment. As a result, the student is being a successful person now, and he said thankful for Mr. Purwanto who has ever changed him to be more discipline.


Taking into consideration about some negative and positive effects, corporal punishment is the last way to discipline the student. The teachers have a right to choose which method that is used to the student, because they really know how their student actually. If corporal punishment is the last method to change the student being better, it should be applied. For note, the purpose from this method is only to guide the student for the best future. In contrast, corporal punishment should be ignored, if it is just for nothing than violence.