Defending Corporal Punishment Instead of Progress

By Jason Malmberg, Educator

President of the Adams 14 Teachers’ Union

It’s never okay to hit kids. Those are the words Gabe Evans couldn’t bring himself to say during his debate with Yadira Caraveo on 9News. They’re running for Colorado’s newest congressional district, the 8th. As a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, Evans voted against a statewide ban on corporal punishment, aligning with the right-wing group Heritage Defense, of which he’s a member.

I’m Jason Malmberg, a veteran teacher with over 20 years of experience in Adams County School District 14, located in the 8th district. For two decades, I’ve been responsible for the safety of my students. Most of the behavior I’ve encountered has been positive, though some students face difficult life circumstances, including traumas no child should experience.

These challenges can lead to disruptive behaviors, but never have I or any of my colleagues thought that hitting a child would help. Violence has never raised a child, and it never will. Defending violence against children is appalling. As a person of faith, I find it especially offensive when people, like Evans, use religion to justify it. His stance, supported by Heritage Defense, reveals political doublespeak.

Evans wants to give me the power to hit students but restrict my ability to teach them essential knowledge to navigate the modern world? No thanks, Gabe. If anyone ever touched Evans’ children, he’d be as furious as I would if it were mine. Gabe Evans, like many Republican candidates, wants to drag our country backward. They aim to restrict a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, break apart families in my district through deportation, and defund and restrict education, calling it “choice.”

Well, Gabe, we won’t go back. We’re moving forward. As teachers, we build on the knowledge passed down to us, just as our predecessors did. Every field of knowledge evolves, and so must we. And if this is news to you, Gabe Evans, let me be the first to say: we don’t need to beat our children into submission.