Corporal Punishment, Religion, and United States Public Schools

Corporal Punishment, Religion, and United States Public Schools

Jane Hall Fitz-Gibbon Corporal Punishment, Religion, and United States Public Schools

Jane Hall Fitz-Gibbon Ithaca, NY, USA ISBN 978-3-319-57447-9 ISBN 978-3-319-57448-6 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57448-6 Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches in the USA. Used by permission. Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940211 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Pattern adapted from an Indian cotton print produced in the 19th century Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

To Andy

PREFACE The ideas for this short book arose from the confluence of four streams of my life experience: research I carried out, but which in the end I did not use, for a book recently co-authored with Andrew Fitz-Gibbon (Welcoming Strangers: Nonviolent Re-parenting of Children in Foster Care, New Brunswick: Transaction Publications, 2016); my work over the last thirty-four years as a foster carer and teacher of foster care; a reworking of research for my Ph.D.; and my work in a school for children with special needs with a carefully worked out policy for nonviolent interventions. I completed the research and writing of this book during a very busy life as the abbess of a faith community, working full time in special education, and as a foster carer, often with a house full of demanding children. In all of that I am grateful for so many who have helped shape the thinking that resulted in this short book. I thank my husband, Andy, for all his loving support and encouragement along the way. He has taken on more than his share of the household chores as I busied myself in the often lonely task of research and writing. Much of the research for this book took place while I was for three years a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Development of Human Services, Research Foundation of SUNY, Buffalo State College. Special thanks go to Daniel Wasson. During the work for my Ph.D., I thank those with whom I have worked most closely over the years at Trinity Theological Seminary: Dr. Pamela Peterson for help in the early days; Dr. Katheryn Webb for the many courses I took with her, which were, in part, the inspiration for the topic of this study; and Dr. Ingrid Buch-Wagler, my dissertation supervisor, for the vii

viii PREFACE many conversations and gentle promptings along the way. Her advice, help, and encouragement were invaluable and much appreciated. I am grateful for the faith community I lead, the Lindisfarne Community, for the help and support of its members, and for many conversations over the years. Friends at the State University of New York College at Cortland have encouraged me, especially Professors Kathryn Russell, Mechthild Nagel, and Joseph Rayle, fearless philosophers, educators, and social justice advocates. Colleagues, with whom I work at TST BOCES, have been very patient and kind. I am grateful to the school administration for allowing me time to attend conferences and to present papers on the work as it progressed. My good friend and colleague Pamela Talbott has often lent a listening ear. I am especially grateful to the support team with whom I work. Carol, Gabe, James, Pat, and Rudi have listened patiently to my developing ideas. Finally, I thank the Center for Effective Discipline for the work they do and the permission to use the maps and charts included in this book, taken from their web site. Ithaca, NY, USA Jane Hall Fitz-Gibbon

CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Corporal Punishment in Public Schools: What Are the Issues? 9 3 Data and Legal Issues 23 4 Religion, Education Pioneers, and Corporal Punishment 37 5 Corporal Punishment and the Use of Sacred Texts 53 6 The Theological Tradition of Nonviolence 77 7 The Ethical Position of no Harm 99 8 Summary and Conclusion 121 Bibliography 131 Index 137 ix

ABBREVIATIONS ACADV ACEI ACLU ACLSS CAPE CCHD CDHS CDF CED CER CRIN DCMR DPIC GDRC HRW ICADV IDEA OCRT UNCRC USDHHS USDOE USDS USSCJJ VAWA WCHN WCPR Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence Association for Childhood Education International American Civil Liberties Union Animal Cruelty Laws State by State Council for American Private Education Catholic Campaign for Human Development Center for Development of Human Services, Research Foundation of SUNY, Buffalo State College Child s Defense Fund Center for Effective Discipline Center for Education Reform Child Rights International Network D.C. Municipal Regulations and D.C. Register Death Penalty Information Center Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child Human Rights Watch Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Ontario Consultants on Religious Toleration United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child United States Department of Health and Human Services United States Department of Education United States Department of State United States Committee on Juvenile Justice Violence Against Women Act Women s and Children s Health Network World Corporal Punishment Research xi