Here are a few words of caution to parents who have children in schools that use violent punishments, a.k.a. paddling. They need to anticipate disingenuousness on the part of educators and administrators who typically do not invite dialog with the public on this topic. When drawn into discussions about "discipline," school officials are apt to trot out those familiar, well-rehearsed, stock responses, the purpose of which is to divert criticism and lull parents.

MYTH - Corporal punishment is used only after all other means have failed and is governed by strict guidelines.

FACT - The number of pupils beaten will always be grossly underestimated because school administrators are savvy enough to AVOID saying things that might alarm the public or draw attention to themselves. Furthermore, What does 'strict guidelines' mean? More often than not, violent punishments are used as a first response for trivial offenses. Guidelines, where they exist at all, exist more on paper than in practice. As a general rule, reliance on fear, force and violence in educational settings is inversely proportional to the level of competence of the educators involved. The least competent tend to be the most violent. They are also the most resistant to reform and most rejecting of other methods to correct unacceptable behavior.

MYTH - Teachers' right to resort to corporal punishment must be retained because certain students can't be controlled by any other means.

FACT - Violent punishment causes far more bad behavior than it corrects, if it corrects at all. The more some children are subject to educator violence, the more misbehaved they become. The very act of physical punishment destroys trust and engenders hostility toward the institution that is supposed to be serving them. As for children who conform outwardly due to fear of punishment, they are receiving an education mainly in one subject area: the abuse of power. Some of them will put that lesson into practice at the earliest opportunity.

MYTH - Well-behaved children have nothing to worry about.

FACT - Wherever pupil beating is allowed, all children worry about it. They know that punishers typically act on impulse and are rarely, if ever, called upon to justify their actions before or after the fact. A steady diet of fear and anxiety impedes learning and, moreover, is dangerous to children's health.

MYTH - This method of pupil management has been in use for many years and it is overwhelmingly supported by parents and the public.

FACT - It is true that violent pupil management has been used throughout recorded history. But today, only the most culturally backward places continue to use it. In almost the entire democratic world, violent punishment of schoolchildren is illegal, and nowhere is it making a comeback. The dwindling number of parents who approve of these methods are themselves the products of such a system. Naturally, they feel reassured when they see teachers at school modeling the same bad behavior that they use on their own children at home. Violent parents and violent teachers alike delude themselves when they claim that their methods are universally approved.

MYTH -- It works.

FACT -- If it worked, why do punishers have to keep punishing? And why are our maximum security prisons filled with violent felons who were reared and educated by these very same methods? Parents tend to trust educators who, after all, are highly trained in their specialty and are licensed by the state. And virtually all parents want to believe that those who take charge of their child at school are motivated by genuine, nurturing feelings toward the child. Educators recognize and pander to this powerful, natural desire. Deliberate vagueness about the details serves the needs of both parties: the practical needs of the educators and the emotional needs of the parents. Responsible, thoughtful parents, however, need to bear in mind that they are delegating their most important responsibility to total strangers - strangers who have their own agenda, who vary widely in their level of competence, who operate with minimal supervision and with near-absolute impunity. Few people would hand over their car keys in the same circumstances, with the same degree of trust. Readers who visit the state education Web sites listed below and look for the word "paddle" or the phrase "corporal punishment" will come up empty-handed. One would never guess that in these school systems children are beaten in their pelvic area with wooden weapons between 1/3 and 1/2 million times annually according to the most conservative estimates. Some researchers estimate the number of legal pupil beatings in the 22 pupil beating states at about 1 million per year. Small wonder nobody's talking!

States which allow corporal punishment:

ALABAMA Office of the Superintendent of Education Alabama Department of Education Gordon Persons Office Building 50 North Ripley Street P.O. Box 302102 Montgomery, AL 36130-2101 Tel.: (334) 242-9702 FAX: (334) 242-9708 Web site: www.alsde.edu

ARIZONA Office of the Director Arizona Department of Education State Capitol 1700 W. Washington Phoenix, AZ 85007 Tel.: (602) 542-5460 FAX(602) 542-5440 Web site: www.ade.state.az.us

ARKANSAS Office of the Director Arkansas Department of Education Four State Capitol Mall, Room 304 A Little Rock, AR 72201-1071 Tel.: (501) 682-4204 FAX: (501) 682 1079 Web site: arkedu.state.ar.us

COLORADO Office of the Commissioner of Education Colorado Department of Education 201 East Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80203-1799 Tel.: (303) 866-6808 FAX: (303) 866-6938 Web site: www.cde.state.co.us

FLORIDA Office of the Commissioner of Education Florida Department of Education Capitol Building, Room PL 08 Tallahassee, FL 32301 Tel.: (904) 487-1785 FAX: (904)488-1492 Web site: www.firn.edu/doe

GEORGIA Office of the State Superintendent of Schools Twin Towers East Atlanta, GA 30334-5001 Tel.: (404) 657-0516 Web site: www.doe.k12.ga.us/index.asp

IDAHO Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Idaho Department of Education Len B. Jordan Office Building 650 West State Street P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720 Tel.: (208) 334-3300 FAX: (208) 334-2228 Web site: www.sde.state.id.us

INDIANA Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Indiana Department of Education State House, Room 229 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798 Tel.: (317) 232-6665 FAX: (317) 232-8004 ideanet.doe.state.in.us

KANSAS Office of the Commissioner of Education 120 South East Tenth Avenue Topeka, KS 66612-1182 Tel.: (913) 296-3202 FAX: (913) 296-7933 Web site: www.ksbe.state.ks.us

KENTUCKY Office of the Commissioner of Education Kentucky Department of Education Capitol Plaza Tower - 500 Mero Street Frankfort, KY 40601 Tel.: (502) 564-3141 FAX: (502) 564-5680 Web site: www.kde.state.ky.us

LOUISIANA Office of the Superintendent of Education Louisiana Department of Education 626 North 4th Street, 12th Floor Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064 Tel.: (504) 342-3602 FAX: (504) 342-7316 Web site: www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp

MISSISSIPPI Office of the Superintendent of Education State Department of Education 550 High Street, Room 501 Jackson, MS 39201 Tel.: (601) 359-3512 FAX: (601) 359-3242 Web site: www.state.ms.us/its/msportal.nsf/WebForm/Education

MISSOURI Office of the Commissioner of Education Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education 205 Jefferson Street, 6th Floor Jefferson City, MO 65102 Tel.: (572) 751-4446 FAX: (573) 751-1179 Web site: www.dese.state.mo.us/

NEW MEXICO Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction New Mexico Department of Education Education Building 300 Don Gaspar Santa Fe, NM 87501-2786 Tel.: (505) 827-6688 FAX: (505) 827-6520 Web site: sde.state.nm.us/

NORTH CAROLINA Office of the State Superintendent of Public Education North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Education Building 301 North Wilmington Street Raleigh, NC 27601-2825 Tel.: (919) 715-1277 FAX: (919) 715-1278 Web site: www.dpi.state.nc.us/

OHIO Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Ohio Department of Education 65 South Front Street, Room 810 Columbus, OH 43215-4183 Tel.: (614) 466-3304 FAX: (614) 644-5960 Web site: www.ode.state.oh.us

OKLAHOMA Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Oklahoma State Department of Education Hodge Education Building 2500 North Lincoln Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599 Tel.: (405) 521-4887 FAX: (405) 421-6205 Web site: sde.state.ok.us/

PENNSYLVANIA (Some school districts ban corporal punishment) Office of the Secretary of Education Pennsylvania Department of Education 333 Market Street. 10th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333 Tel.: (717) 787-5820 FAX (717) 787-7222 Web site: www.pde.psu.edu/

SOUTH CAROLINA Office of the State Superintendent of Education South Carolina Department of Education 1006 Rutledge Building 1429 Senate Street Columbia, SC 29201 Tel.: (803) 734-8492 FAX: (803) 734-4426 Web site: www.state.sc.us/edu/k-12les.html

TENNESSEE Office of the Commissioner of Education Tennessee Department of Education Sixth Floor, Gateway Plaza 710 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37243-0375 Tel.: (615) 741-2731 FAX: (615) 741-6236 Web site: www.state.tn.us/education/

TEXAS Office of the Commissioner of Education Office of the Texas Education Agency William B. Travis Building 1701 North Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701-1494 Tel.: (512) 463-5825 FAX: (512) 463-9008 Web site: www.state.tx.us/Education/

WYOMING Office of the State Department of Public Instruction Wyoming Department of Education 2300 Capitol Avenue, 2nd Floor Hathaway Building Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050 Tel.: (307) 777-7675 FAX: (307) 777-6234 Web site: www.k12.wy.us/ Information courtesy of Jordan Riak http://www.nospank.net