Time to Break out the Paddle Again?

I was having dinner with some friends the other night and the topic came up about the behavior of students these days. The lack of respect for teachers and fellow students was the primary theme. The comments were not positive either.  According to one person,” the students are ruling the classroom”.  That might be a little extreme but it certainly isn't like it was when I went to school. Another comment was “parents these days automatically take the sides of their kids and give little thought to the teacher’s side of things when confrontation occurs in the classroom”. That comment probably is more accurate than the first one.  In either case, how did it get to this point in the first place.

When I went to school, if I opened my mouth when I shouldn't or if I did something out of line I had to deal with it from my parents after the teacher or principal dealt with it.  There was always the threat of getting “paddled”. God, nobody ever wanted that so we behaved and we did respect the teachers.

If parents are going to “coddle” their kids through 12 grades, no wonder a student feels he has support even before he or she does anything out of line. There is no repercussion for their actions.  Recognizing this, I read where the Springtown, Texas School District voted to allow school officials to paddle students of the opposite sex provided a witness of the same sex as the student being paddled is present to watch, a witness so to speak.

I do not blame the students for this state of affairs in schools today.  I do blame the parents and the legal system for putting a stranglehold on discipline in schools.  Hats off to Springtown’s residents for voting to get control of things in their school district. Maybe more school districts should contact Springtown and find out how to get started.