This is the only paddle we think should be allowed in school–and not for spanking! | Source

Spanking, by the time you’re in your teens, is usually relegated–at least in our minds–to something that may happen in the bedroom with your boyfriend if you’re into that sort of thing (we’re not judging you!). But for teens in 19 states, spanking in school is a reality–and in one Texas school district, the spanking policy just got a little weirder.

In Springtown, Texas, opposite-sex administrators are now allowed to spank the behinds of unruly, fully clothed kids. Before, only a female administrator could spank a female student–same for the males. Not anymore. The Springtown superintendent explained, “We don’t have a very large district and in our middle school there is only an assistant principal, who is a female. If the old policy remains in place, then the parents of the boys at the middle school would not be able to request corporal punishment.” Gee, how terrible! Is it us or would just not hitting students be a lot easier?

Most schools, even where spanking and other forms of corporal punishment are legal, don’t engage in it, and the ones that do generally offer parents the option to opt out of having their kids spanked in school.

That said, a lot of parents were peeved when they heard that a male assistant principal paddled the patooties of two girls in Springtown, prompting a school board meeting about the same-sex spanking policy. And instead of, you know, not spanking in school anymore, the administrators apologized for violating the policy… And then changed the spanking policy to allow opposite-sex paddling in schools. As in, no one was like, “Hey, our bad–spanking in school is probably a bad idea,” but instead, “Hey, sorry for violating that pesky policy–fixed it!”

When asked why spanking in school works in Springtown, the superintendent gave this explanation: “They’re sitting beside that guy in church and they see that principal in the grocery store or at the restaurant,” he said of parents and school administrators. “They have a sense of trust. So they’ll call up and tell us, when their child commits an infraction, those parents will call up and tell that principal, ‘Rather than in-school suspension, why don’t you just give ‘em a swat?’”

Uh, we dunno, but maybe starting with because it’s been pretty well-documented that hitting people doesn’t really teach them a lesson (other than to live in fear of being hit)? Maybe because it’s outdated and outlawed in most other places because it’s considered abusive? Just throwing it out there. Maybe because it’s pretty creepy and perverse for an adult to spank a middle or high schooler to begin with? (Seriously, especially opposite-sex spanking–it’s opening a whole gross, potentially sexually abusive can of worms.)

The fault doesn’t just lie with the Springtown administration, though–the parents who allow this to go down probably should reconsider their stance. What they do in their own home is their business (though we don’t think spanking anyone is smart), but there’s a reason spanking in school isn’t common: It’s harmful!

Do you think spanking in school should be allowed? Is there spanking in your school? If you’re okay with spanking in school, does the opposite-sex aspect weird you out a little? Tell us in the comments!

These guys did a different kind of spanking in school–so gross!

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