Friday, January 26, 2007

Tough Love

From the Bible, Proverbs 13-24 (King James Version):

"He that spareth his rod hateth his son."






There is a debate raging in America over spanking. NO, not that kind of spanking! I'm talking corporal punishment. There are many who still believe in the old proverb "spare the rod, spoil the child". The belief is rooted in the religious ethic of the nation's Puritan founders. In fact, one study by the Kinsey Institute suggests that 76% of Americans use spanking regularly.

When I was a kid, I got spanked. I mean, the pants came down, and the bare behind took a good whacking. It was embarrassing. I mean, right in front of my friends? C'mon guys! Now that's a good way to throw a wet blanket over an 18th birthday party.

Here at the Academy, we do not believe in corporal punishment of any kind. We won't spank the students, because we think that corporal punishment is ethically wrong. Besides, there are many effective alternatives to spanking. Time outs, non-corporal punishments, denying things that are valued. They are all equally effective, if used properly.

Still, there are times when a little something more is necessary. I have found a very effective technique that I use in such cases. I simply take the student for a ride in the car and have a stern talk. They generally calm down and stop misbehaving after our time in the car together.














No students were harmed in the making of this blog entry. Stunts performed by Joshua.

4 comments:

21 Charles Street said...

Oh sweet Jesus - I laughed till I cried, literally! Thank you, thank you, thank you - as I'm sure you 'home teachers' can relate - by the time I get home on Fri - a week of teaching seems like a month and that last hour of the school day is - Mrs. Grinch time for me. The students know to walk and talk like a marshmallow. So when I opened the picture - what a welcome respite. Thanks Bro.

Jim Chandler said...

Remember those "Let's go for a ride" moments? You'd be all like "Oh crap, I'm in for it now".

21 Charles Street said...

Do I ever remember... Jim, I was in my forties and he was still saying "let's go for a ride". I have a question after looking at that picture again - how did you get the speedometer to register 90mph? Hmmmm

Jim Chandler said...

It was a little scary, but I only did it for a second - just long enough to get the picture. Then I hit the brakes real hard. Uh, that didn't work out so great. I lost a windshield wiper.