Cane ‘will restore discipline’ to schools

“At school I was caned about 15 times. It was a quick punishment that was painful enough and left me with a clear sense of a point beyond which I should not have gone” – Nicholas Winterton, MP, writing in 1996 in favour of bringing back the cane to schools.

‘We must restore pupils’ discipline’

I CARE for children and in my public life I have been concerned with their welfare. That is why I support the use of corporal punishment in some circumstances.

There are occasions when you have to be strict to be kind. Young people want to want to grow up knowing there are limits beyond which they cannot go.

Corporal punishment of a kind appropriate to the age and sex of the child can provide the sanction that sets the limit.

When my three children were growing up there were times when they were smacked or I used the slipper. They did not suffer and it did not alienate them – we are a very close family.

At school I was caned about 15 times. It was a quick punishment that was painful enough and left me with a clear sense of a point beyond which I should not have gone.

Nobody condones violence but that is not what appropriate corporal punishment is. It is over quickly and many youngsters prefer it to drawn-out sanctions.

Not every teacher will want to use corporal punishment but it should be an option. What sanction is there otherwise? It’s often not possible to put a child in detention and banning troublemakers from sports only builds their aggression.

Since corporal punishment was abolished in state schools discipline has deteriorated.

I believe its restoration is vital to maintain well-disciplined schools and above all, well-balanced and well-behaved children.

As published in Daily Mirror, 30 October 1996.

Picture credit: British-Discipline.

Traditional School Discipline

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