Pray to God I'm not that guy you meet on the street: Paddled Student

[stopschoolpaddling]

Run time: 03:09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR2WcokUauY   Posted on YouTube: November 21, 2010 By YouTube Member: paulaflowe Views on YouTube: 9   Posted on DU: November 22, 2010 By DU Member: stopschoolpaddling Views on DU: 1135

 
"I remember my first paddling in second grade. It welled up anger in me that only now as an adult, I'm learning to overcome. After that, it was done on a regular basis. If a student did something wrong and the teacher didn't know who did it, everyone was beaten. These beatings ended for me in middle school when I began to fight my teachers for threatening to beat me.

I watched my friends get beaten and walk with a limp, or go home crying. We all talked about how we would get even. As an adult, I was so filled with anger and hatred. That's what these beatings produced in me, what racism did to me. I grew up in a small town, a very poor part of Texas."

Learn how you can stop the beatings in American schools.
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Paula Flowe, Exec. Director
Jestin Samson, Asst. Exec. Director
The Hitting Stops Here!
A campaign for teaching kindness and respect in schools everywhere.

[Chulanowa]

1. Seen it firsthand, got more than a few beatings myself

Kate Shepherd Elementary School, Morningside Elementary School, Mae Eanes Middle School, and Davidson High School in Mobile, AL.

Those elementary schools loved, just loved to apply the "board of education." The teachers had clear "favorites" from whom an infraction would lead to 20 minutes in the hall before the teacher just came out and gave you four whacks.

Middle school was a bit different. Mae Eanes had a reputation as a "bad school" - it's where I learned to fight, and learned that when I fight I need to make sure the other guy never ever wants to fight me again, so I guess it's true, not the best school to send your kid. I'd only heard of a few paddlings there; they were delivered by one of four men, the assistant principle, or one of the three coaches, all of whom were big and badass enough to apply corporal punishment to kids who really would have no issue with knocking a teacher on their asses.

High school... I dunno how common they were. I remember being "collected" by the principal after I got into a fight with this 400 pound, six-eight 9th grader asshole. He walked up, whacked me in the face, and I did my best to do unto others as they do unto me. Well, we end up in the principal's office, he sits us down and says "Well, boys, I could either send you both home for two weeks, or you can take five whacks and go back to class." Now we were both teenage dumbass knuckleheads, but two weeks was a bit excessive even so. I went first, got my blows, and waited for the other guy. He comes out, tears streaming down his face, and decides he needs to confide in me about how tender his skin is and how easily he bruises.

At any rate...

Not a single one of these was ever "corrective." All it ever did was cause resentment and anger for me. I never refrained from doing something out of fear of getting hit with a board. it never made me think about what I'd done wrong - in fact, looking back, I figure most of what got me paddled was either actually pretty damned funny, or completely rational. Instead it just made me resentful.

Now, I don't have a record like the guy in the video - but I've never been a black guy in a southern state, either (thankfully I fell on the "right" side of the color line, even if my genetics say otherwise) and from what I've seen, yeah, he's got a case. Everything added together like that? Hell yeah.

[stopschoolpaddling]

2. Right on Chulanowa...you know what it's about... they hit 5 year olds

where I live. The high school principal hits just as many times a year as he has students, over 400 times. Man, he's one busy
guy when it comes to ruining children's lives. Some poor kids will probably come in and shoot the place up pretty soon and who
can blame them?

[james0tucson]

3. I once

I was beaten by a "teacher" for having certain books at school (a book of Beatles lyrics being the main offender!). I was literally beaten for that, not merely "paddled" but given open-handed slaps to my head.

If he's alive today, he'd be in his late 70s. You'd *still* have to hold me back.

[NOLALady]

4. The prinicpal, a nun, raised rhe paddle to hit me one time.

I was in grammar school. The violation? I had "broken the line" after school. I was ill and left the line when I saw my ride. I just needed to lie down.

When she raised her hand, I bolted. I ran all the way home. My Mom called the school. I didn't hear the conversation, but that was the first and last time one of those evil nuns raised their hand to me.

This was a parochial school. My family paid them for my education. They were not paid, nor responsible, for my discipline.

[TheEuclideanOne]

5. Everybody is making way too big of a deal about paddling

When I was in Middle school and High school, paddling was allowed. You knew what you had to do to get paddled and, if you were smart, you didn't do it. I, on the other hand, was a class cut up and got paddled about maybe a half dozen times throughout school. Every time it was deserved because I clearly broke the rules and knew it. I never held resentment and thought about going back to shoot up the school. The only thing that it taught me is not to fuck up or you will get paddled and that paddling sure hurts like hell, especially if it was the gym teacher.

[bitchkitty]

7. I feel sorry for you, then.

that your parents allowed it to continue, and that your teacher was so stupid as to use what appears to be an ineffective punishment, since you were evidently a repeat offender.

Violence begets violence. I don't believe in hitting children; in my eyes it is the epitome of bad parenting.

[TheEuclideanOne]

8. Why? I am not a violent person.

And if you accuse me of that one more time, I will hunt you down and kill you.

All kidding aside, I was a repeat offender, so it probably was not that effective punishment. A half dozen times in 6 years is not exactly chronic behavior. Then again, detention was not much more of an effective punishment. Fear of being paddled was a deterrent, believe me. Sure, it was not a Silver Bullet that stopped every type of bad behavior that I could ever do, but it did make me think twice. But hey, in high school and middle school, students don't always make the best decisions and don't spend every day on their best behavior, right?

[activa8tr]

6. I must be very naive. I thought hitting children in school was OVER!!

I thought all public an most private schools in the USA did NOT do that anymore.