Did you know that school teachers across the nation are still allowed to hit their pupils? I certainly didn't until The New York Times reported that 20 states still allow corporal punishment in schools. That's right-even with all of the progressive reforms regarding child abuse, teachers are still allowed to hit children, while parental hitting is generally considered a warning sign for child abuse. According to The New York Times, Tyler Anastopoulos of Wichita Falls, Texas, was paddled so hard by his high school principal that he had to go to the hospital. Anastopoulos told his story in an attempt to persuade the Texas legislature to ban corporal punishment in schools.

Why is it okay for schools to hit children when their parents can't? I'm certainly not arguing for parental corporal punishment, but allowing paddling in one setting and forbidding it in another seems pretty hypocritical-particularly in public schools, which the state government can control.

Jimmy Dunne, the founder of People Opposed to Paddling Students, told The New York Times that "hitting children in our schools with boards is child abuse, and it promotes child abuse at home. ... Parents see it's legal in schools and think it's OK to do at home."

Spanking at home is not technically illegal in the United States, but hitting a child hard enough to necessitate hospitalization would be sure to raise some red flags. The Center for Effective Discipline reported that the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse reported, "The use of corporal punishment in schools is intrinsically related to child maltreatment. It contributes to a climate of violence, it implies that society approves of the physical violation of children, it establishes an unhealthy norm. ... Its outright abolition throughout the nation must occur immediately."

That was in 1991. What have we done since then? According to National Public Radio, 24 countries around the world have banned corporal punishment at home, while over 100 have banned it at school. However, the U.S. is not on either list.

And why isn't it? People have an odd misconception that corporal punishment is an effective means of disciplinary control. Some are clearly under the mistaken impression that corporal punishment would have no effect on academic performance. The Center for Effective Discipline reports that students that take the ACT in states with corporal punishment actually perform worse than do students in states without corporal punishment. While 75 percent of states without corporal punishment scored above average on the ACT, 75 percent of states with corporal punishment scored below average on the ACT.

The Center quotes the legendary psychologist B.F. Skinner as saying, "I believe that there is no longer any use for corporal punishment in schools and much to be gained by suppressing it." This makes sense. Punishment, psychologists have found, is not very effective-its effects are extremely temporary because it only creates negative feelings around a specific event without providing a good model of behavior for the child to follow instead. The fact of the matter is that corporal punishment doesn't work.

Then why are schools so hung up on its use? New Mexico Senator Vernon D. Asbill said that he thought corporal punishment was helpful in establishing "control" over students.

The New York Times quoted him as saying, "The threat of it keeps many of our kids in line so they can learn." But where is this notion coming from? Certainly not from academic scores or studies of psychology.

It may just come down to tradition. Jacob Washington, a student at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans who recently protested the ban of corporal punishment in the school, told The New York Times, "This is a tradition for the school. ... It's how the school has been run for 60 years."

Carolyn McCarthy, a congresswoman from New York, introduced a bill within the last year to make corporal punishment illegal in U.S. schools. Maybe it's time for us to more seriously consider the bill. If studies have shown that academic performance can be hindered by corporal punishment, maybe it's possible that schools are holding on to their traditions for the sake of resisting change. If corporal punishment clearly doesn't work, schools should get together and get a new game plan-one that actually helps control students' behavior and enhances, rather than hinders, students' academic performance.

Isn't it possible that if corporal punishment has been proven ineffective, maybe the best solution is reinforcement of good behavior and creating strategies to reward those who act appropriately without resorting to violence? After all, what are schools for?