Paddling in schools?!

Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?

I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't remember kids being
paddled back then so I can't imagine it being done now.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04

Sophie wrote:
Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?

I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't remember kids being
paddled back then so I can't imagine it being done now.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04



Sophie -
Congratulations, btw, on the latest addition.

Paddling is absolutely not done here. (Wake County, NC) I
think it may have happened some when I was a kid, but not
much. None of the punishments at our school are remotely
physical - most teachers set up a system where students
"pull a card" for various infractions, and after x cards per
day he or she might have to visit the principal or call mom
or dad.

I'm being a bit dense today - is the form one you had for
your child's school, or someone on the other thread mentioned?

Lesley

Sophie wrote:
Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?

I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't remember kids being
paddled back then so I can't imagine it being done now.

I'm 27 and I remember kids being paddled in school. IIRC, they stopped
paddling out my school when I was in 5th grade. I think they called your
parents to tell you they were paddling before they actually did the
paddling - I don't know if it was to ask permission or if they did it over
parents objections or what.

Manda

"Sophie" wrote in message
...
Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?

I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't remember kids being
paddled back then so I can't imagine it being done now.

Still legal in TN, on a district-by-district and school-by-school basis.
Only administrators can paddle, and parents must request in writing that CP
NOT be used on their children if their child attends a school where the
admin uses this option. Generally the admin calls the parent and gives the
parent the choice of their child being paddled or suspended. It's not used
very often, in my experience.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04

"Sophie" wrote in message
...
I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't
remember kids being paddled back then so I can't
imagine it being done now.

I don't know about now, but it was a fairly regular occurrence when I
went to elementary school in the late 70's/early 80's in Ohio. My 5th
grade teacher had a big paddle with lots of little holes in it (so it
would sting more) that read "Board of Education". He kept it out all
the time, displayed on top of the chalkboard in the front of the room.
He was just a *bit* strange in general though. My mom used to say he
only became a teacher to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some school somewhere that still
does it.
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 8 mo.
And Jaden, 3 months

Cleaning the house while your children are small is like
shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.

On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 16:08:40 -0500, "Sophie"
wrote:

Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone
mentioned paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

23 states in the US still allow paddling.

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual
forms to fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for
paddling. Please tell me this is out-dated info.

Nope, not outdated.

http://tinyurl.com/xm8g


Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is
still done?

I'm 31, went to school in North Carolina, and don't remember
kids being paddled back then so I can't imagine it being done
now.

In North Carolina, some districts allow it and others don't.

Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools
1999-2000 School Year: data released February, 2003

In the U.S. as a whole, 342,038 students were subjected to
corporal punishment. This is a drop of 7% from the previous
survey two years earlier [taking enrollment increases into
account], continuing a steady trend. Total U.S. public school
enrollment was 46,306,355 students in '99-2000. Twenty-
seven states and the District of Columbia now have prohibited
all corporal punishment in public schools.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 17:02:03 -0500, "Cheryl S."
wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some school somewhere that still
does it.

In 23 states, it is legal and though I believe it has decreased in
frequency, it is still done in plenty of schools in

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Wyoming


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Sophie wrote:

Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?


Lol, I thought you were referring to outrigger canoe paddling, like as a
school sport (popular where I am). Ok, with that said, I've never heard of
paddling in schools, I grew up in California. Maybe its not as common on the
west coast?

cara

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:23:10 GMT, cara
wrote:


Sophie wrote:

Not to start a spanking debate - I swear!

On another forum there is a thread about spanking. Someone mentioned
paddling in schools. Apparently this is still doing done?!

At the beginning of the year when parents are given all the usual forms to
fill out, there's also one to give permission or not for paddling. Please
tell me this is out-dated info.

Does anyone know of a school or school district where this is still done?


Lol, I thought you were referring to outrigger canoe paddling, like as a
school sport (popular where I am). Ok, with that said, I've never heard of
paddling in schools, I grew up in California. Maybe its not as common on the
west coast?

cara

I take it you missed this California attempt to return paddling to the
schools there.

California only outlawed corporal punishment statewide in 1986
and in 1996, an assemblyman tried to reinstate it.

http://www.corpun.com/ussc9601.htm

Los Angeles Times, 19 January 1996
Major Disputes Over Corporal Punishment

By Diane Seo, Times Staff Writer

Remember the days when unruly kids at school were
punished with a good old-fashioned swat on the behind?
Those days may soon be here again if an Orange County
legislator has his way.

Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) has proposed
bringing corporal punishment back to California schools
after a decade-long absence, alarming many people but
also winning praise from those who believe a good
spanking can do a child good.

"Today, kids are getting away with everything," said Lisa
Van Tassell, whose child attends Jeane Thorman
Elementary in Tustin. "Something's got to be done to
get children's respect back. As long as the paddling is
well supervised and doesn't go overboard, I would support
it." Kids, however, gave a thumbs-down to the idea.

"If it happened to me, I would go right to the phone and
call my mom or dad, and I know they wouldn't like it," said
Portia Moss, a seventh-grader at A.G. Currie Middle
School in Tustin.

The corporal punishment bill has advanced to the
Assembly Appropriations Committee after clearing the
Education Committee on Wednesday. Since 1986, state
public school educators have been banned from using
corporal punishment, the moderate use of physical
force by a teacher or principal to maintain discipline.

But Conroy's bill and his companion measure that calls
for paddling of juvenile graffiti vandals have been
embraced this year by Republicans, who hold a majority
in the Assembly. They see the return of spanking and
other forms of assertive discipline as a return to basic
education practices.

The corporal punishment bill would not require school
districts to reinstate paddling but would allow schools
to adopt corporal punishment policies if they choose.
Under the provisions of the bill, school employees
could paddle students only if another adult is present
and if they get prior written permission from a parent.

"Mickey's appalled by all the violence going on in public
schools and believes the violence has skyrocketed
since corporal punishment was banned," said Patrick
Joyce, an aide to Conroy. "He believes corporal
punishment is one thing that can be used to restore
discipline and give kids a sense of accountability."

Some people, however, are appalled that California
could return to the days when a teacher or principal
could whack a disobedient student for mouthing off,
getting into a fight or engaging in other naughty behavior.
Some educators said that even if the state allows them
to administer corporal punishment, they have no plans
to do so.

"I'm a 20-year veteran of the Marines, but even I don't
see paddling as being able to solve any problems,"
said Charles Milligan, principal at Spring View Middle
School in Huntington Beach. "If we brought it back, I
don't think it would change anything."

But other school officials say corporal punishment has
its merits and a place at school, as long as parents
give their consent.

"A lot of times, if the punishment is swift and brings the
issue to a conclusion, it can be effective," said Tom Meiss,
varsity football coach at Foothill High in Tustin. "I have no
doubt or reservation saying it's an effective form of
discipline, but I'm just not sure how parents would feel.
A lot of parents probably spank their own children, but
they may not be anxious to have someone else do it."

While some parents support the idea of corporal
punishment, others fear educators would abuse their
rights to spank a child.

"I can't even imagine a responsible adult thinking of
reinstating paddling," said Sueanne Pacini, a parent at
Andersen Elementary in Newport Beach. "I don't think
corporal punishment belongs in the school or in the home
.. . . . What a waste of time and money to put a bill like
this through."

While walking home from Currie Middle School, seventh-
grader Cecilia Davis cringed at the thought of being
whacked at school.

"No one should be able to hit you except your parents,"
Cecilia said. "I think if teachers started hitting kids, some
kids would hit the teacher back."

Wendy Flores, an eighth-grader at Currie, said she would
rather be suspended than spanked.

"I think it's embarrassing to be hit in front of the class
and have marks on your body," she said.

Don Keller, principal at Kazuo Masuda Middle School
in Fountain Valley, remembers paddling students while
he was an administrator with the Long Beach Unified
School District in the early 1980s.

"I had mixed emotions about it then," he said. "At the
time we were using swats for everything from truancy
to other infractions. With some kids, it was effective.
For others, it was not."

Keller, who also was paddled in school, believes reinstating
corporal punishment wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing,
although he knows it is not regarded as the politically
correct way to discipline students.

"People who are pro-corporal punishment are seen as
Neanderthals," he said. "If it were returned to the schools,
I would use it sparingly because it's something that could
be abused."


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Good, my home state is on the list!