Should we be surprised to read in the New York Times this morning that disabled students are spanked more than their average peers?
"Corporal punishment is just not an effective method of punishment, especially for disabled children, who may not even understand why they're being hit," said Alice Farmer, who wrote the report.We must be judged by how we care for the most vulnerable among us.
The report, based on federal Department of Education data, said that of the 223,190 public school students nationwide who were paddled during the 2006-7 school year, at least 41,972, or about 19 percent, were students with disabilities, who make up 14 percent of all students.
We lived through the destruction of The Ugly Laws in the United States and, yet, today -- we must realize the "ugly" among us are still be punished for something they cannot control or conquer.
Where is our compassion and our understanding?
How can we claim to be human when we treat those who need our help the most like misbegotten savages?
That is horrifying.
Short of taking away custody from abusive parents, what can be done?
Well, the school system is also to blame, Gordon. They don't have to paddle children. Hitting an autistic child with a one-inch board is just cruel.