Tova's story of her son's problem at school has triggered a flood of memories of those days when our tribe was school-bound. I have mentioned this story in a comment before, but here is the story as best as I recall it...Toothache may want to step in and make editorial comments.
We were in Missouri, a state that allows coporal punishment in its grade schools. They have some fairly restrictive rules about who and when the paddle can be administered, but parental notification is not one of the rules.
I got a call from Toothache, he had gotten into some kind of trouble at school, I don't even recall what it was, but they had left him alone in someone's office while they got the paddling crew organized and insured they had all their bases covered. I drove over to the school as soon as I could and found him still sitting in the office alone. I went in and sat with him, waiting for the paddlers to return.
It wasn't a long wait. They all came in together with the "Board of Education"...a paddle no doubt custom-made in wood shop. They were quite surprised to see me there and suddenly their stern looks and demeaner changed to one of uncertainty and nervousness. They immediately began to explain themselves and their "right" to administer the paddle and whatever infraction Jimmy was guilty of. When it was my turn, I explained my policy and my "right" as a parent to protect my child. I made sure they understood that if the boy needed a paddling, I was the designated paddler...when I determined it was necessary...in the privacy of my home. I reiterated that no one on the school staff had better ever even consider it their "right" to lay a hand on any of my children unless they were prepared to receive in kind. I was hot but I think I remained calm enough that they considered my offer to be valid and that I was more than capable of fulfilling it. They seemed to want to argue the point but did not. The paddle was replace on its hook unused.
Now to clear this up, I am not a "mollycoddler" when it comes to my kids. I know that Toothache and I discussed whatever it was that got him in the hot seat to begin with. If I had felt that the infraction had earned a paddling, I would have provided that paddling...at home...in private. And Toothache knew that. Whatever the offense was, I didn't feel it rated more than a counseling and a promise to improve.
The idea that a school system should have the right put a paddle to a kid's butt just infuriates me. This same school system was turning out slack-jawed, droolers who couldn't read or write after twelve years in this system's tutelage. A school with teachers who would allow a kid to skip his next class so they could sit around and shoot the breeze. I have known some really special teachers over the years, unfortunately not enough