Discussing corporal punishment
The two articles from the Washington Post on 16 April quoted here have both provoked discussion on two of the newspaper’s own discussion boards and on Yahoo. Here are some of the more interesting posts from the past few days:
bdeihl570:
We have the option to allow our kids to be paddled at school or not. Well we elected to say no, because we figured we would do the paddling if it was needed. Well, after the occasional incident at school, our daughter was paddled at home and things were ok for a while, but she started her stuff again. We disciplined her one again and the same thing happened. The Principle called us in for a meeting about her, and he recommended allowing them to paddle her, even though he was against corporal punishment, but he had exhausted his options. We agreed and almost a full school year has passed and she has not had anymore incidents at all since she was paddled at school.
It is an embarrassment thing I believe… If you paddle them at school, it is instant. The kids are embarrassed when they get back to class and all of their friends know what just happened. Paddling at school is a wake up call for kids, an attention getter. I am all for it and have now signed the paper allowing all 3 of my kids to be paddled. Plus they also get in trouble at home if they do something bad enough at school to get paddled. I have been told by numerous teachers that my kids are some of the most well behaved at the school… [A] good paddling on the backside never hurt anyone!
GrannyV:
A few years back, my daughter threatened to call CPS after I had spanked her… I told her “Go ahead! I will eventually get out of jail early for good behavior, but YOU will never get out of foster care because you behave so badly.” She never called them, and her behavior improved significantly.
Thestoryplease:
At my school we had a retired master sergeant who came to school in his uniform would address an unruly class as a drill instructor would a group of raw recruits and the kids loved this guy because he did this not out of hate but because he wanted them to be better kids and he gave them a structure they could understand in a way they could perform… So i say bring back the paddle but to be used only by someone big, strong, calm and trained in the proper use of the “board” because it is imperative that the student know in his or her heart that use of the paddle isn’t the instrument of a sadistic school, but due to that student’s behavior.
Tamora_Myers2000:
I believe that paddling should be brought back to school – Youth these days don’t respect teachers, parents and not even the police. I was paddled in school by teachers and parents – I didn’t grow up being a bully or resentment, I took it as a lesson learned and if I didn’t learn anything I received another paddling. I am a single mother of (3) girls – I instill in them the old fashion ways, being raised in NC, some kids here in FL speak to their parents in a way I would never have dreamed of saying to my parents without a good spanking…
Jezey
Maybe this will make some laugh and some it won’t. Don’t care about the one’s that don’t laugh. I laugh about it myself now.
When I was a senior in high school, (yes, I said senior) in Texas, my home, I was told by my 6′2″ female English teacher to stop chewing my gum. After I took it out of my mouth, well, I made the mistake of putting it back in. She caught me chewing it again. I got taken out of the room and given 3 licks with a huge paddle, the one with the holes in it. Even though I tried real hard to act like it didn’t hurt when I got back to class, it was not easy to sit down! Whew, I never chewed gum in her class again. I never misbehaved at all in her class after that. Man, she had a powerfull swing. Whop! Whop! Whop! LOL!
I was being a smart aleck 17yr. old and learned my lesson. It is rather embarrasing now, I must admit. Simply told the story hoping it would make some people laugh.
Nancy
I think it’s a great idea. If we got a spanking in school we got another one when we got home and boy did that teach us not to misbehave. We respected our teachers and our family and loved God and country.
Mary Ann
I don’t think Texas or any other state advocates beating a kid, but a couple of whacks with a paddle is just going to get their attention. When I was in high school, my teachers paddled. I got paddled once (2 whacks) for something I did in science, and once I had to stand in the corner for a half hour on one foot. I didn’t like to 2 whacks, but the standing on one foot for 1/2 hour was awful.
Lauren
I went to catholic school….we had rulers across the wrist….you definitely learn from that. Well…most kids…i got the ruler a lot! I learned from my dad’s belt more.
