Students should not have to fear physical punishment from misbehaving in school. There are plenty of other ways to teach a child right from wrong, and physically beating them is not one of them. If a student misbehaves and receives a paddling, it is true that they learn not to do the behavior, however they are not doing it out of respect for authority, they are doing it out of fear of physical pain and harm. This is not right.
Young students’ minds easily take key concepts that they learn in life and soak it up much as a sponge takes in water. Students who are paddled as a punishment learn that physically harming another person is okay, and that they should do it when people don’t do what they say. This is because children initially learn by mirroring actions of those around them, before regular schooling takes over with lecture style learning.

Fear is a strong motivator. Nevertheless, when physical abuse factors into to the question, students might not only become afraid of misbehaving, they might become afraid to go to school. They would avoid contact with other students in order to try and ensure they will not be punished, thus undermining their learning and community building efforts. This is not only detrimental to the child but the school community as well.

The most obvious reason why Principals should not paddle children is the harm they might cause. If a child misbehaves enough, the act of paddling them will eventually cause lasting harm that might have an effect on the development of the child. Physically harming children is not the way to bring order to a school.

When paddling is a punishment, there will invariably be cases where students are wrongfully beat. This will develop into a cynicism for authority, and a warped view of justice. Children who have been punished by paddling for things they did not do will learn that the world is out to get them even though they are not necessarily earning it by their own actions.

There is no way to regulate which school authorities have the right to discriminate by race or background. A child who is of a specific background might be singled out for paddling more than others because the official would view their actions in a more negative light than the other children, and thus there would be no way to regulate discrimination, thus inducing legal and societal issues.

These reasons are not the only reasons as to why Principals should not paddle students as a punishment; however, these summarize the main themes discouraging Principals from adopting the technique. Paddling should in no way, shape, or form, be acceptable, and will only lead to deeper issues than mere misbehaving on the part of students. School should be better equipped to deal with children’s behavior without having to have beaten them.