Corporal punishment: A cultural property

Everett McGuinty

The Korea Herald Asia News Network Seoul

A new problem is now emerging out of corporal punishment. As role models, Korean teachers continue to demonstrate to their students that an effective method of problem solving is through physical punishment. The lesson is simple: If you have a problem, use violence as the solution. Student-to-student violence, and bullying, is now becoming a national problem. These bright students learn more from what we do, not from what we say as teachers.

Teachers are practicing corporal punishment, the government is legally supporting physical abuse, and Korean parents are approving it by remaining silent. As a result, corporal punishment is a socially and culturally supported problem.

I believe, and fear, that Korea's future will be seriously damaged if this problem is not corrected. The economical implications of allowing corporal punishment to continue with hamper the younger generations' ability to compete globally. The skills that these young Koreans will need in the future are not like the skills of past generations. Creativity, for example, develops and flourishes when one feels safe and secure. When people are not in a safe learning environment, it is impossible for them to develop their full creative potential.

For the sake of future generations we must carefully ask: What should a society do if a cultural practice and value (such as corporal punishment) harms the educational development of that society?

I believe the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) and other leaders in education, including teachers, must begin a campaign that focuses on three specific areas.

First, teachers, parents, students and society itself must be awakened to the devastating effects of corporal punishment. There are numerous ways of accomplishing the task of raising social awareness. An effective method used in other countries has been through the use of government-sponsored TV commercials, advertisements and other appropriate communication mediums. Society's collective conscience must be slowly sensitized to the challenging issue of physical abuse within the schools. Private companies could also contribute to this effort.

Second, Korean teachers, as professional educators, are now teaching the values of society through enforcing corporal punishment. Teachers themselves must be instruments of change, acting as true leaders, regaining their respect in society. The main reason why teachers use corporal punishment is because they have no other method to manage their students. The alternatives to corporal punishment should be effectively taught through professional development workshops.

There are cost-effective ways to educate veteran teachers currently practicing in the school system. Some teachers have been using corporal punishment for more than 20 years. Asking them to change won't be easy; however, any teacher can learn a new method of controlling his or her classroom. Alternatively, an entire school can implement a simple method of classroom and school management where students and teachers know the rules and consequences of misbehavior.

Teachers who are currently being trained in universities must be given the necessary skills to manage their classrooms in a non-violent way. Specific courses or workshops on classroom management should be compulsory at the university level, ensuring competency in future teachers.

Third, the Ministry of Education must phase out corporal punishment over a short period of time through educational policy change. The Elementary & Secondary Education Law (Enforcement Ordinance) 1998, and the more recent recommendations on June 26, 2002, must be ratified to eliminate and ban corporal punishment. Teachers could then be made cognizant of the consequences of violating a newly outlined, and enforceable, policy. Teachers could still defend themselves and other students, if a student threatened physical harm in the school. Making the school a safe place is priority.

To ensure equal opportunity of education, enforceable educational policies must reach beyond Seoul's city limits. Rural Korea urgently needs support and relief from this isolating geographical problem.

In most countries leadership in education often comes from the female gender. I really believe female parents can unite and show leadership in education. Isn't it time that the country stands behind and supports the youth, the children, in an educational revolution?

The Korean government, on the other hand, has shown their position recently by endorsing physical abuse with specific parameters around the thickness (1cm) and length (50-60cm) of the stick used for punishment, number of hits to the body (5-10), and so on. Thanks to the Ministry of Education, male students can now be lashed across the buttocks, and female students can be struck on the upper thighs.

I can envision one of my third-year female students bent over a desk, wearing a skirt, while a male teacher spanks her upper thighs in a dark room, while a fellow male teacher watches.

Corporal punishment, a deeply rooted problem with legal legitimacy, continues to strangle the individual and society, and threatens future generations from competing globally. From a psychological and educational point of view, three concrete suggestions were given on how to begin addressing this challenging problem. Through raising social awareness, equipping new and experienced teachers in classroom management and disciple skills, and legally banning corporal punishment, Korea can overcome this crippling counter-educational practice.

It was not my intent to draw attention and criticism to my own school or the educational foundation for which I worked. This article has deliberately omitted the company's name in hopes that the larger issue will come into societal focus.

The scope and complexity of a culturally impacted, non-issue could not be sufficiently addressed with the brevity of this article. Korea's educational history and Confucianism, to name a few, were not found under the nails of this article as it scratched the skin's surface.