When I saw the title of this thread, I was thinking you were referring to spanking, not walking a fence. I can see how you could consider walking the fence for 30 minutes a "physical punishment", but walking the fence for 5 minutes IN MY OPINION, is not "physical punishment." There are WAY worse things a teacher could do to a kid who is misbehaving than having him walk a fence.
WITH THAT SAID...
1 - No, a Kindergartener should NOT be required to walk for 30 minutes on a hot day for a little infraction two hours earlier... but I remember all too well sitting by the fence at recess because I was misbehaving when I was that age... and I tell ya, it made me shape up! I did NOT want to miss recess. I am sure this is going to ruffle feathers, but I really believe that we caudle our kids too much these days. Someone mentioned that the kids would be embarrassed by walking the fence - well, constantly acting up in class and disrupting the learning of others is pretty embarrassing too.
2 - Different methods of discipline works for different kids. There should be consequences for their actions and those consequences SHOULDN'T be comfortable. It also depends on the misbehavior. If she is adding up little infractions all day and then BAM! they are required to walk for 30 minutes, that seems a bit harsh.
3 - In Kindergarten, there isn't always an immediate opportunity to give a consequence - but I don't think it is out of line to delay the consequence. Younger children might not understand the connection between behavior now and consequence in a hour - but most Kindergarteners will remember quite well why they are getting punished an hour after it happens.
4 - Recess is a time for ACTIVITY... for some kids, the ONLY activity they get all day. Perhaps that's why she makes them walk and not just sit. And I don't have any problems with that... if they weren't walking the fence - they would probably be out running around anyway. There are plenty of kids who NEED the exercise! BUT - 5 minutes would probably do it. Were those time frames chosen because that's how long their recesses last? I remember having a 15 minute recess and a 30 minute recess. There were times that kids had to miss the whole 30 minutes recess.
My BIGGEST problem with that whole situation is the teacher's attitude.
It makes me wonder: (1) if she enjoys handing out the punishment,
(2) how many complaints she has had - especially when she said that whole spiel about not calling her later... hmm... has she had a few calls in the past, perhaps?!
(3) what does the principal say about it? Typically, principals have to approve discipline tactics that are used in their schools.
I wouldn't have a problem with walking the fence for part of recess instead of them just sitting by the fence - as long as it was done as a "means to an end" so to speak. My son needs to get that energy out during recess or it could lead to more discipline issues later in the day. I wouldn't be opposed to signing a form that said he would walk for a REASONABLE amount of time, as long as I felt that the teacher's heart was in the right place. If Jacob's sweet, awesome Kindergarten teacher from last year had this policy, I'd sign it in a heartbeat because she was ALL about the kids and I know she loved them and wanted them to succeed.
And just one last thing... I am sure that I had a different attitude BEFORE I had a Kindergartener! There are times that you (and the teacher) may feel you are at wit's end and will try ANYTHING to get your child to focus on learning! Trust me, I've been there. But in the end, if my child learns what he needs to learn and realizes that in life, there are consequences for your actions - I would call that SUCCESS.
OK, OK, go ahead - I have my armor on and am prepared for the backlash for my comments.
