Corporal Punishment In Schools: Does It Work?

Sarah Gonzalez — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan, in Washington. To many people, a teacher spanking a student for starting a fight or talking back in class might seem like a relic of distant times, but it's more common than you might think. Though the trend is down, as recently as six years ago, a quarter of a million students were spanked at school, and laws in 19 states allow corporal punishment.

Experts argue about whether it works. Critics call it child abuse and note that students continue to misbehave even after repeated spankings.

Florida Schools In Session, But Teachers Absent

Sarah Gonzalez — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Schools have been open for a couple of weeks across much of Florida, but not all of the students know who their teachers are yet. There's typically a lot of teacher turnover during the summer break, and schools can't always get vacant teaching positions filled by the time school starts.

At DeSoto County High School in southern Florida, math tutor Ronnie Padilla is filling in as the French teacher. There's only one problem: He doesn't speak any French.