Utterly Meaningless » Blog Archive » LETTER OF THE DAY
  • LETTER OF THE DAY

    Filed at 6:11 am under by dcobranchi

    The DE legislature is considering amending state law to permit paddling in the g-schools. At least one Delawarean thinks this is a bad idea:

    Schools should not return to the violence of spanking

    I could not believe what I read in the paper this morning. As if there isn’t enough violence in this crazy world we live in, now they actually want to strike our most precious human beings, our children.

    You can try to make it sound better by saying “spank” but it’s inflicting pain on our children no matter how you look at it. And if parents are agreeing to this, well, what does that tell you about the parents?

    It tells me that the child is getting beaten at home, and let me tell you, the majority of those kids can’t wait to get to school everyday so they feel safe. That’s a very sad thought.

    Our children learn what adults teach them. Teach them violence and they will learn violence. I think Rep. John Atkins and the Indian River School District could use a good “SPANKING”. It took our legislators years to realize “paddling” wasn’t working. Let’s not go back.

    Rose Brainard, Wilmington

    5 Responses to “LETTER OF THE DAY”


    Comment by
    Myrtle
    March 27th, 2006
    at 12:48 pm

    I’ve never thought of public schools as paragons of ideal justice. Anyone who got suspended for defending themselves during a physical assault knows what I’m talking about. You’d never get a conviction in a real court of law under these circumstances. But I suppose automatic suspension for fights prepares children for the real world. I have a better idea let’s SPANK all the kids that get involved in fights. That’ll teach ’em.

    No trial, no witnesses, no defense, no one phone call to your parents. Just you and a principal who’s already made up his mind.


    Comment by
    sam
    March 27th, 2006
    at 12:55 pm

    I attended a small Christian school growing up in which spanking was allowed. Honestly, the spankings at school were a joke compared to the whippings I got at home.
    How sad is it, I realize now, that I can actually make that comparison?
    I remember one teacher/administrator in particular, Miss Cox, who always wore a type of charm bracelet. When she spanked you could here her hand, raising the paddle in the air, the charms would tinkle together just before she hit you. There was Mr. Poole who was rumoured to spank so hard that he had sent a football player all the way over the chair he was leaning on.


    Comment by
    COD
    March 27th, 2006
    at 2:50 pm

    We got the choice of the paddle or a 500 word essay. A guy choosing the essay would have resulted in a beating from his friends far worse than the beating supplied by the teachers.

    Junior high peer justice can be harsh.


    Comment by
    traci
    March 27th, 2006
    at 3:07 pm

    This bill is not ever expected to get out of the Senate committee if it should even pass the house if it should ever leave their committee. The teacher’s union is not at all behind it and Senator Sokola has no problem killing for several reasons.
    It’s a bill w/ no merits or even teeth as school districts would need to opt in & parents must also give consent.

    I just can’t see tons of people lobbying Leg Hall to cry for “Please spank my public school kid!!” And can really you imagine being those running for school board taking up this in their campaign cause & expecting to be elected.

    In fact not too long ago Leg hall voted to remove all corporal punishment from school… this would reverse that.

    I believe this is just a few politicians’ attempt to say “hey let’s get tough on schools” as an election year is looming again. I also seem to have heard that this bill has it’s roots in the lower more conservative bible belt of our state. Hmmmm???? Anyone surprised? Maybe those sponsors are looking for the TTUPAC vote???

    Here’s copy of the bill:
    SPONSOR:
    Rep. Atkins & Rep. Booth & Rep. Ewing & Rep. Hocker & Sen. Bunting & Sen. Vaughn & Sen. Venables & Sen. Simpson;

    Reps. Lee, Buckworth, Carey, Thornburg

    HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
    143rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
    HOUSE BILL NO. 376

    AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

    BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
    Section 1. Amend § 702(b), Chapter 7, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by inserting after “punishment” the following:

    “unless permitted by a vote of the Board of Education of a local school district and subject to the limitation that the parents or guardian of the student must consent to the imposition of corporal punishment in the Board approval vote”.
    SYNOPSIS

    This Bill would allow the individual school districts to permit corporal punishment to be administered by its teachers, administrators, official employees or agents of the school district if permitted by the parents or guardian.


    Comment by
    speedwell
    March 27th, 2006
    at 4:14 pm

    Only a public school could believe, and teach, that a stultifyingly simple writing assignment is the functional punishment equivalent of allowing someone to hurt and demean you by hitting you on the back of the privates.