But it's also increasingly clear that the new generation of teacher evaluations have the potential to strengthen instruction, make teaching more attractive work, and raise student
achievement on a wide scale — if states and school districts stay the course on reform.
Physical punishment is associated with a range of mental health problems in children, youth and adults, including depression, unhappiness, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, use of drugs and alcohol, and general psychological maladjustment.26 — 29 These relationships may be mediated by disruptions in parent — child attachment resulting from pain inflicted by a caregiver, 30,31 by increased levels of cortisol32 or by chemical disruption of the brain's mechanism for regulating stress.33 Researchers are also finding that physical punishment is linked to slower cognitive development and adversely affects academic
achievement.34 These findings come from large longitudinal studies that control for a
wide range of potential confounders.35 Intriguing results are now emerging from neuroimaging studies, which suggest that physical punishment may reduce the volume of the brain's grey matter in areas associated with performance
on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale, third edition (WAIS - III).36 In addition, physical punishment can cause alterations in the dopaminergic regions associated with vulnerability to the abuse of drugs and alcohol.37
On a grander
scale, the PTO can plan a school -
wide celebration such as a science fair, reading
achievement program, or student art show.