NHS Responds to Shocking Viral Video on Corporal Punishment in Florida School, Puts School Punishment into Question
May 25, 2021
WOODBURY — Last month, an elementary school principal in Florida made national headlines after cell phone footage of her administering corporal punishment to a six year-old girl went viral.
The principal, Melissa Carter of Central Elementary School in Clewiston, Florida, beat the girl three times with a wooden paddle after the child allegedly damaged a computer at the school.
The cellphone video was taken by the girl’s mother, who alleges she did not understand what was happening at the time because she does not speak English and was afraid to intervene because of her immigration status.
According to the National Institutes of Health, corporal punishment is defined as: “the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain so as to correct their misbehavior.”
After the video made national news, NHS Chief Advocate journalists interviewed students and staff for their reactions on the viral headlines. Students and staff at Nonnewaug were surprised to find out that corporal punishment is still legal in 19 states – mostly southern states – in the U.S.
According to a news report from the BBC: “more than 106,000 children were physically punished at U.S. public schools during the 2013-2014 school year – the most recent year for which national data is available – according to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.”
An investigation into the incident and Carter is ongoing.
The following list from the National Institutes of Health lists the many national organizations opposed to corporal punishment in schools:
| American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
| American Academy of Family Physicians |
| American Academy of Pediatrics |
| American Bar Association |
| American Civil Liberties Union |
| American Humane Association |
| American Medical Association |
| American Psychological Association |
| American Public Health Association |
| American School Counselor Association |
| Association for Childhood Education International |
| Council for Exceptional Children |
| Defense for Children International |
| General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA |
| Human Rights Watch |
| National Association of State Departments of Education |
| National Association for the Education of Young Children |
| National Association of Elementary School Principals |
| National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners |
| National Association of School Nurses |
| National Association of School Psychologists |
| National Association of Secondary School Principals |
| National Association for State Boards of Education |
| National Council of Teachers of English |
| National Education Association |
| National Foster Parents Association |
| National Mental Health Association |
| National Parent Teachers Association |
| National Women’s Political Caucus |
| Prevent Child Abuse America |
| Society for Adolescent Medicine |
| Unitarian Universalist General Assembly |
| United Methodist Church General Assembly |
| U.S. Department of Defense: Office of Dependents Schools Overseas |
