What happened to corporal punishment?
Corporal punishment was banned in all NSW schools during the mid 1990s. Some of the reasons cited for this move were: the link between violence in the community and the use of corporal punishment in schools; its limited capacity to deter unwanted behaviour; corporal punishment encourages an acceptance of violence to resolve conflict; and it is unprofessional.
Not all states have prohibited corporal punishment in all schools though.
Mark Bensley, the principal of Bundaberg Christian College, Queensland, is reticent when talking about the discipline policy in his school. On the one hand, he says, “there are good, positive stories that need to be heard among the news of teachers being spat on and teachers walking out of the job”. However, Bensley feels the final step in his discipline strategy, just before expulsion, can be taken out of context. The paddle.