You may think that the image of a teacher hitting a student as a form of discipline is a thing of the past, but in 20 states, educators are still employing this abrasive tactic as a form of admonishment.
Social networking and online campaigns have become some of the most powerful activists out there –such as when Facebook (News - Alert) was used to garner support in Egypt during the riots – and now another group is turning to the Internet to combat school injustice.
Unlimited Justice*, a site created by Marc Ecko, has announced a campaign to ban paddling in United States schools. While 30 states have already banned this “barbaric practice” of hitting students as a form of discipline, the remaining 20 states need to fight against this injustice, according to Unlimited Justice*. Among the 20 states that still allow paddling are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana and Kansas.
“Justice may be black and white, but there is a gold standard and it's up to you to define it,” the site explains. “Join the movement, and lead America on its way to becoming indivisible with liberty and Unlimited Justice* for all.”
The campaign follows five steps: learn the facts, join the movement, recruit your friends, activate the stakeholders and create the discussion.
Some of the “cold hard” facts, according to Unlimited Justice*, are that 222,517 students in American public schools were hit by their teachers in 2006. Of those students, 20,000 needed to seek medical attention for injuries suffered at the hands of their educators. In these 20 states, students can be paddled in school for being late to class, acting out, going to the bathroom without permission, or even failing a test, according to the campaign statistics.
Once the facts are shared, participants are encouraged to join the movement and rally their friends on Facebook and Twitter to get behind the cause. Supporters are also encouraged to reach out to their government officials, from local to state politicians, to make sure the message is spread. Finally, participants are asked to further the discussion by blogging and creating content about the campaign.
“Think of Unlimited Justice* as a game, but instead of just scoring points you can have real influence in the realm of education reform,” the campaign creators argue.
Unlimited Justice* is also turning to Foursquare to spread its message as participants are asked to check into their school to see if their educators tend to use paddles as a form of discipline.
Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Rich Steeves