Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This article discusses the advocacy of Tina Morgan to stop the use of corporal punishment in Robeson County schools. North Carolina is among 21 states allowing corporal punishment, but the decision on whether to use is is made by local school boards.

Robeson County school spokespersons say corporal punishment is used sparingly. Morgan, however, began her efforts to ban the practice in 2005, when her son was severely bruised by spanking at school. Morgan's son's bruises lasted nearly three weeks, and the incident, along with her advocacy, was mentioned in a New York Times article [Lyman, Rick. "In many public schools, the paddle is no relic." New York Times Sept. 30, 2006: A1. Full text available: ProQuest Newspapers (NCLIVE)].

The incident with Morgan's son was a factor in the current state bill, introduced by Rep. Martha Alexander, to ban corporal punishment entirely in North Carolina's public schools. [The bill is H.853; to read it, go to the North Carolina General Assembly's Web site. On the right side of the page, use the "Find Bills by Number" search box.]

Robeson County's policy is to resort to spanking only after other methods of punishment have been ineffective; only if the parent has given prior permission to administer corporal punishment; and only if it is administered with another teacher or a principal or assistant principal present.

The article presents views for an against the proposed bill from Peggy Dean, who represents Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education; state representative Ronnie Sutton; Robeson County school board member Severeo Kerns; and state representative Dog Yongue (formerly interim superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County).