Recently, Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, said:
Growing up in a world where bible reading and prayer were in school, school life was a lot better for everyone. All the students and teachers knew there was a higher power than they, and they took the time to make sound decisions.
From what we have seen in today’s schools and experienced in the classroom ourselves, the school world would be better off if everyone acknowledged God and his presence. We did not see the school violence that we see today, and school was very enjoyable during those years.
One was not afraid to walk to school, attend class, or even play outside. if we had a say in what is going on in Ohio, we would support it wholeheartedly. The unbeliever does not know what it takes to make school life better. They have no solutions to the problems kids face today, thus, they should not be so quick to oppose these measures.
The unbelievers’ solutions have been to remove God, prayer, specific punishments, and other similar aspects of school life and replaced them with ideas that do not work. We were in South Korea when the Gyeonggi-do head of education removed corporal punishment from the schools.
The violence against teachers rose so much that he had to do an about-face and return corporal punishment to the schools. We know what happens when punishment is a slap on the wrist or less. Social workers do not help here, as they are incapable of providing real solutions for students today.
Knowing that God exists and that he punishes bad behavior and is incorruptible does stop a lot of bad behavior among students.
Thiessen, an Evangelical preacher who lives in the Philippines, blogs at TheologyArcheology: A Site for the Glory of God. Over the years, Thiessen has repeatedly said that if schools were allowed to beat students they would behave. In his minds, schools are out of control because prayer, Bible reading, and corporal punishment were banned. This claim is patently untrue, both statistically and anecdotally.
In the aforementioned post, Thiessen told a whopper when he stated:
We were in South Korea when the Gyeonggi-do head of education removed corporal punishment from the schools.
The violence against teachers rose so much that he had to do an about-face and return corporal punishment to the schools. We know what happens when punishment is a slap on the wrist or less. Social workers do not help here, as they are incapable of providing real solutions for students today.
When I first read this, I thought, is this true, Did South Korean schools really return to beating children? A quick Google search revealed that Thiessen’s claim is false, Not only did South Korea ban corporal punishment in schools, it also banned parents from beating their children in 2021.
The Republic of Korea has become the 62nd country to prohibit corporal punishment against children, and the fourth in the Asia Pacific region. With a child population of nine million, the Republic of Korea’s prohibition means 300 million children worldwide are now fully protected from violent punishment by law.
“Congratulations to the government of the Republic of Korea on its prohibition of corporal punishment against children – and to all of the organisations, institutions and partners who contributed to this important milestone for children,” said Dr Howard Taylor, the Executive Director of the End Violence Partnership. “In a world where more than two in three children experience violent discipline at the hands of their caregivers, this is not just a critically important step for children in Korea, it’s also a good example to other countries around the world who have yet to take this important step to protect children.”
This prohibition came into effect with the amendment of Civil Act 1958 (Act. No 17095) and the repeal of Article 915, which gave adults “the right to take disciplinary action” against children. With this repeal and revision, there is no longer a legal provision that can authorize the use of corporal punishment.
“A ban on the corporal punishment of children by their parents is the most fundamental stipulation in preventing child abuse,” said the Government of the Republic of Korea while announcing the amendment of the Civil Act. “The passage of the legislative amendment through the National Assembly is expected to provide an opportunity to fundamentally improve the social awareness towards the corporal punishment of children and child abuse.”
This law reform was a result of a collaboration between the government and child rights partners. Save the Children Korea spearheaded a campaign to prohibit corporal punishment in May of 2019 – and in January of 2021, the government announced that a promotion campaign to raise awareness of violent discipline had been included in the country’s Complements of Child Abuse Preventative System.
“We warmly welcome the amendment of the Civil Act and the early measures taken by the Government to support the implementation of prohibition,” said Dr Sonia Vohito, Legal Policy Specialist at the End Violence Partnership. “Still, huge numbers of children around the world are waiting for the realisation of their basic human right to protection from violent punishment, and we call on all remaining governments to enact prohibition without delay.”
Learn more about this prohibition by exploring the Republic of Korea’s country report. A global look at our progress on prohibiting corporal punishment can also be found at our corporal punishment countdown.
It doesn’t surprise me in the least that Thiessen supports beating children. His beliefs on the matter are common among Fundamentalist Christians. As an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) pastor, I taught parents that God required them to beat their children; that beatings were God’s chosen form of discipline. I provided Bible verses that justified and supported corporal punishment. God said it, end of discussion. I later repented of my promotion of violence against children, and I now oppose beating children, without exception. I deeply regret beating my children, having apologized to them several times.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Around 67 countries globally have banned the physical punishment of children by parents and adults. I live in one of them. I began teaching in 1970, when teachers could smack children, use a cane or ruler etc. Hubby remembers teachers in the school where he taught, boxing the ears of pupils – which could potentially damage their hearing. Child psychology now understands so much more about the harmful after effects. It teaches kids that it’s always OK for the stronger to prey on the weak.
(Anecdote: When my devolved Welsh Assembly Government was about to pass this into law, I helped to volunteer-manage a Community Cafe that the local Council had given us a grant to set up. So, locals brought in posters, leaflets, cards etc to advertise local community events. One shift, I noticed some flyers that said to protest against this new law which ‘turned parents into criminals.’ We were normally quite open with our teams of volunteers, so this was the only time I took an executive decision – I hastily and furtively scooped them into my apron pocket and ‘recycled’ them into the bin!)