Texas moms approve of same sex paddlings

One option that solves most of these problems that has been used in other places is to let the student select another student, usually a friend, to be the witness. Since the student selects a trusted witness, sometimes called a chaperon, then the matter of impropriety is addressed. It also solves the school's problem, as occurred in this case, of having to take a second administrator from their duties, it only involves taking the student witness out of class for a few minutes.

My recollections of my canings were that there was never a witness there. I certainly wouldn't have wanted one of my fellow pupils present. If I was showing any emotion, I'd want to keep it to myself.

As the paddling's were given when the two girls were fully dressed, I don't see the problem of their being administered and witnessed by males. Weren't they ever spanked by their daddies when they were little girls?

As the TTWD becomes more mainstream, that spankings may have a sexual undertone also becomes more openly admitted, and more readily understood by those who stoutly maintain that they are totally vanilla.

There is an uncomfortable edge to the real life discipline of schoolgirls that makes most spankos a little nervous - such punishments are not supposed to be openly erotic. Fantasy in a fantasy setting is permitted, for it does not involve the unwilling coercion of real youngsters to fuel the imagination.

That the moms did not want their daughters paddled by men was more, I think, to do with a question of potential prurient stimulation and not one of the correct method of chastisement to deal with improper conduct.

Texas has an opt out provision, not an opt in. If a school district allows paddling, a parent may opt his/her child out of it. However, if a school district does not allow paddling, a parent may not demand that the student be paddled in lieu of some other punishment.

In many cases the principals and the teachers have what is called Qualified Immunity. This means they can't be sued for paddling a child black and blue (believe it or not).

A child went home with a swollen bottom that was black and blue. The woman asked the police officer who came to her home (this is after she argued the point with the school), what would happen if she did this at home. She was told the child would have been taken from the home and put in foster care until the court could decide what to do.

Another woman went to court with the same problem. Her lawyer was reprimanded in open court, and she was fined $5,000 for taking up the courts time.

This is why CP has to be taken very seriously in schools. I've seen cases where many times it was the minorities that were punished the most in this manner. Very sad.

Not that terribly long ago, school spanking was actually protected by my state's Constitution. It is probably this troubling racial aspect that was the last straw.

To be fair though, the difference probably had more to do with socioeconomic status than race. One must be very careful when interpreting statistics, particularly when it is human behavior that is being evaluated.

What's the sense of the school board making a policy if the schools aren't going to follow it?

And in most jobs, if you don't follow policy you get the boot. At least for non-life threatening situations - and I don't see anyone's life being at stake here. A schedule, yes. Waiting for a female staff member could have been a real inconvenience - it could have taken 20 minutes to an hour out someone's day. Which isn't life threatening, life changing, and is no real reason to ignore policy.

This wasn't a new policy. The school officials knew it when they drew up the schedule that day. Someone didn't plan on any girls needing paddling that day at that school and - oops, it wasn't just an isolated event. That speaks to a systematic failure to plan.

And if the school officials have failed here, where else have they failed?

I'm not a smoker, but if I was and I ignored the non-smoking policy at my job site I know I wouldn't then ask the company to change its policy because I personally found it inconvenient to leave the building to smoke. Sure that's a general health issue, but ignoring the "same gender paddler" policy is a mental or emotional health policy.

In many ways the school board is a moot, powerless, meaningless entity if its policies can be ignored repeatedly.

Goodgulf

Immunity is not the issue. Had the school followed its stated policy, there would be no controversy. It's the violation of that policy that may render the defense of immunity null. In other words you get immunity if certain conditions are met. When you ignore those the immunity goes away. It's enough to get the case to a jury who will view the paddling of that girl by a man as downright creepy.

Rollin, it is the issue. And has been for a long time. You have to be in law enforcement to realize this kind of thing. This is why the woman is complaining about her daughter's backside. The conditions were not met as to the schools rules. However, she's barking up a dead tree because of Qualified Immunity. Conditions are met all the time, but kids are still paddled black and blue by these sadistic jackasses.

When you have a witness to the paddling, you know damn well the person paddling will do their best, and the witness will swear to any lies told. It's a well known fact that kids can get an adult into a lot of trouble in this type of scenario. Unfortunately they take that into account. The only safe way out is to be able to opt out. It's frustrating I know, but I've seen it first hand.

The update on this story is that the school board voted to make paddling "opt in"--the parents have to give written permission and designate the gender of the person issuing the punishment.

Also, the mother of this girl was at the school board meeting crying because her daughter is being treated very badly by other students, the mom was apologizing for bringing all the negative publicity to their small town, never realized the story would become such a big deal..etc.

I live on the east coast, and can't imagine something like this happening here, but Texas is a different world, I guess.