In which all but the most conservative polypeople have a stroke...

Elok · February 21, 2004, 14:27

On the Washington Post's frontpage today, I read a rather disturbing story. It wasn't actual news, just one of those "issues" summaries they trot out for slow days, but still very creepy.

Paddling as a form of punishment in school is still allowed in 22 of the United States. Specifically, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas allow it pretty much everywhere, and a minority of districts in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming allow it. It's banned elsewhere.

Maybe this is old news to some of you, but I find it thoroughly backwards that a good third of the country instructs its school faculty to "burn students' butts if they step out of line," as a former Vice-Principal of a middle school in Mississipi was quoted (the V.P. had resigned after being told to paddle a little girl for talking back). According to the article, 342 thousand students were paddled in the U.S. in the year 2000. It drove home the point by mentioning that in no part of the country is it legal to smack prisoners on the rear as a disciplinary measure...

Paddling advocates point out that the practice is strictly regulated; in Meridian, Miss., "three quick licks with an officially approved, quarter-inch-thick wooden paddle" is the maximum penalty allowed, and every state but Texas requires prior parental permission. But the idea that there's some kind of "arse-beating regulatory commission" to approve paddle thickness is even more depressing to me.

I really wonder why we care so much about evolution in schools, while crap like this is going on.

DinoDoc · February 21, 2004, 14:43

/me realizes he hasn't had a stroke yet.

I guess that means I don't care then.

GePap · February 21, 2004, 14:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Elok
I really wonder why we care so much about evolution in schools, while crap like this is going on.

Becuase we are also able to walk and chew gum at the same time?

I agree that schools should be done with corporal punishment.

Deity Dude · February 21, 2004, 14:45

I went to private schools in Michigan and was paddled quite often. Actually, the teacher usually used a yardstick or pointer. I'm not sure whether or not I support it, but I will say one thing, there were alot less problems and the faculty had alot more control of the schools then they do now.

Az · February 21, 2004, 14:49

chequita guevara · February 21, 2004, 14:53

I was never paddled in school, but I did get shut in a closet, though not locked. I guess they wanted me to be able to get out in case of fire, but I got out anyway, wandered around, then went back to the closet befoer the teacher showed up.

Az · February 21, 2004, 14:56

DinoDoc · February 21, 2004, 14:58

Az: Don't

Az · February 21, 2004, 14:59

WTF ?!

Az · February 21, 2004, 15:00

I am truely shocked that corporal punishment is allowed in the US educational system. This is disgusting, and shocking.

VetLegion · February 21, 2004, 15:05

Gatekeeper · February 21, 2004, 15:16

A principal once yanked me up by my hair. It only happened once.

Gatekeeper

The Mad Monk · February 21, 2004, 15:32

A teacher once picked me up by the collar and pinned me against the wall for talking back and generally being an adolescent *****.

It only happened once, never had to happen again, and he remains one of my favorite teachers.

mrmitchell · February 21, 2004, 16:08

It's tough love, folks.

Seriously...sometimes it's right IF they're young enough to not make the mental connection (which is one of the arguments in favor of paddling, but this is rare in a school environment.)

Otherwise, well, no.

There are many exceptions that make you want to smack the teacher upside the head instead of the student.

By the time the kid is old enough, paddling doesn't hurt anyway. It's just a joke if it's administered past a certain age.

The Andy-Man · February 21, 2004, 16:22

I think Paddling is wrong.

It dosn'ty go far enogh to be quite honest. When i think back to how much time a certain 1 or 2 kids would waste pissing about, I reckon just sending the regular misbehaviourists to the head to get a cople of wacks with the cane would have been much better.

BustaMike · February 21, 2004, 16:23

St Leo · February 21, 2004, 16:25

This is disgusting.

Elok · February 21, 2004, 16:47

Quote:

Originally posted by GePap
Becuase we are also able to walk and chew gum at the same time?

I agree that schools should be done with corporal punishment.

I mean that evolution causes a huge hubbub, but the idea of whacking other people's kids on the rear as a perfectly normal disciplinary measure is just shrugged away. It's used for minor infractions, is the thing-talking back and tardiness were among the most frequent reasons cited by the article. I would wholeheartedly support a good butt-whooping for sexual harassment, because that kind of problem requires extreme remedies. But a little less than ten percent of Mississippi's kids get paddled each year, which sounds pretty huge to me for something as harsh as physically beating the kids.

Whaleboy · February 21, 2004, 16:51

I'm with Azazel 100% on this one

JohnT · February 21, 2004, 17:13

As a parent*, all I can say is:

I see nothing wrong with this. Deal with it, AZ. (and weren't you leaving, anyway?

)

*When you give your opinion, can you please say whether you're a parent? Thanks!

Ben Kenobi · February 21, 2004, 17:17

Can't resist:

Az · February 21, 2004, 17:33

Quote:

I see nothing wrong with this. Deal with it, AZ. (and weren't you leaving, anyway? )

Left, and came back. ( didn't say I was leaving forever, just for a month )

You see nothing wrong with this?

Do you think it's ok to beat up children to teach them a lesson?

Oncle Boris · February 21, 2004, 17:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Azazel
Do you think it's ok to beat up children to teach them a lesson?

When I was a little boy, my small brother used to bite my mom. She had to give him a huge slap in the face for him to stop- talking didn't work, and the situation had been worsening for weeks.

Sadly, there are some people who unly understand brute force. (Yeah, my brother is still like this today).

Az · February 21, 2004, 17:46

Quote:

Sadly, there are some people who unly understand brute force. (Yeah, my brother is still like this today).

He still bites your mom?

Still, This is rather "self-defence" case. There are a mulititude of other cases that don't have to be punished by force, and even this one doesn't. How about closing him in his room?

Kirnwaffen · February 21, 2004, 17:50

No greater teacher than pain.

Oncle Boris · February 21, 2004, 17:51

Quote:

Originally posted by Azazel
He still bites your mom?

No, but he did hit her recently (he's now 18). She threw him out, and now he lives at my dad's house. Since my dad is huge and strong, he's not been annoying him (bastard).

Quote:

Still, This is rather "self-defence" case. There are a mulititude of other cases that don't have to be punished by force, and even this one doesn't. How about closing him in his room?

That's the point: what's so wrong with physical pain? Why must it be terribly worse than psychological torture (when you're a baby, spending a few hours in a dark closet is TERRIBLE).

Nubclear · February 21, 2004, 17:53

Capt Dizle · February 21, 2004, 17:56

I support paddling. I went to all of my kid's teacher's and encouraged it. And I promised that they would get a matching spanking when they came home.

In cases where the teacher's did not spank them, I fixed that by giving a double dose at home when I got notification. If I had to go to school and research for disciplinary actions, they got the Biblical seven for one.

Oncle Boris · February 21, 2004, 17:58

Quote:

Originally posted by jimmytrick
I support paddling. I went to all of my kid's teacher's and encouraged it. And I promised that they would get a matching spanking when they came home.

In cases where the teacher's did not spank them, I fixed that by giving a double dose at home when I got notification. If I had to go to school and research for disciplinary actions, they got the Biblical seven for one.

Az · February 21, 2004, 17:58

Quote:

That's the point: what's so wrong with physical pain? Why must it be terribly worse than psychological torture (when you're a baby, spending a few hours in a dark closet is TERRIBLE).

not for a couple of hours. send him to his room, until he promisses not to do it again, and if he does, THEN send him for a lot of time. Then, he'll understand.