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Corporal Punishment In Hong Kong Essay

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Crime is an essential part of the society. It is used as a boundary to regulate our behaviors so as to avoid any detriment to the order of society. It is however difficult to have an unambiguous universal standard for definition of “crime”. There has been great variation in history and across nations as to what has been defined as a crime (Morrison, 2005). Some behaviors were allowed in history, yet, people nowadays behave in the same way will be termed as criminals. One of the conspicuous examples is the outlaw of corporal punishment in schools in Hong Kong in September, 1991. Teachers or administrative staffs who carry out physical punishment would be fined or even taken into jail. Therefore, it is worth discussing the reason for a change …show more content…

As in the “Three Character Classic”, “to teach without severity is the teacher’s laziness” (jiao bu yan, shi zhi duo). So children were severely punished for deviant behaviors such as lying or being rude. Chinese parents and teachers believed that punishment creates deterrence to children because the pain can remind them never to misbehave again. This feature is supported by the Chinese saying, “spare the rod, spoil the child” (peng xia chu xiao zi, yan shi chu gao tu”. Therefore, children in the past were required absolute discipline, their life was similar to military …show more content…

There is not only decline in respect for teachers, but also growing emphasis on individualistic beliefs and human rights. Changes in social and legal contexts of Hong Kong contribute to the urge to revolution on contemporary schooling. In 1991, CP has been prohibited and new guidance and discipline framework were promoted by the Education Bureau. Students’ whole person development and mental health were more valued and teachers should show supports to students in need. Interests of children, teachers, parents and the government are involved. Such alteration was probably due to the following few reasons in social and political

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