Hmm, this is interesting peek into the mind-set of a few of you. Well, she has to beat her child, I mean, she did sign the papers right? That's legal binding stuff, that is! Methinks I am not the only one here who has signed schoolastic entry forms without fully reading each clause ... Even still, I would have taken the administrator aside and told him what I was going to do with that contract is he ever asked me to hit my child again. Then again, I might not have been so polite.

She did the right thing.

Sorry, but she knew the rules coming in. I'm not saying I agree with it, and I would never sign my child up for a school like that, but that's part of the agreement she made with the school. She can take it or leave it. She chose to leave it, and that's fine. I'm baffled why she would have signed up for that school in the first place. I don't care how good the education is, if they told me, "You are going to have to sign a paper that says you will do something that you completely disagree with," I wouldn't enroll my kid.

And spankin' ain't beatin'. Spanking has long been upheld in courts as not child abuse. So if a private entity wants to require a legal act part of their rules for entry, they have every right to.

GD, I think you'd make a fine office supervisor. Myself, I would have signed it anyway. I don't care. I'll deal with each issue as it is presented to me. Until then, the kid gets a good edu-macation.

But this lady never said, "I didn't know about the policy." She claims she never signed it. I'm not buying it. The spanking rule is part of the school's overall agreement, not a separate thing to sign. There's no WAY a school lets someone in without signing the agreement. And, according to administrators, they specifically mention the spanking thing and tell them that the other option is suspension. So she knew about it, and enrolled him anyway. I can't sympathize with her tears and outrage for dealing with exactly what she was told she would have to deal with.

While I agree that it is a bit ridiculous to agree to something and then go running to the media when it happens, I believe the article said that the school has only enforced this policy a few times. Maybe they don't really make a big deal about it. Whenever I've enrolled kids in school (only a few times for my niece) they give you a handbook, you sign something saying you agree to it's policies and sign thirty million other things at the same time. I don't know how it was at this school though. Maybe she signed it, expressed concern to the receptionist who told her not to worry about it it really never happens anyways. I don't know.

I agree with Euromonkey. It seems easy to tell someone else how to best deal with their kids. The school would have been better off involving the mother earlier in the correction process and then she could handle it how she sees fit. I think expecting parents to be involved in their kids behavior at school is great. Requiring it even. But to say, "Here's two paddles. Pick one and spank your kid in this office before you leave here," is ludicrous. Paper or not.

I love Tref's editing text. As a Christian I get so sick of people misusing the "spare the rod" verse. Out of context much? Although I'd hate for this to turn into a religious debate too! ;)

I shall rest on the eloquence of my previous statements.

What is baffling to me about this being made into such a big deal is that spanking was not the only option. No one's free will has been threatened. This was not a spank or die situation. If the child went too far, in the school's eyes, the parent could either spank the child or accept suspension. It's elementary school. Not high school. So why not accept the suspension in lieu of the spanking, and have a discussion with your kid about why he's gotten into so much trouble. Treat the suspension like a severe grounding. It's not going on his permanent record.

Suspension or spanking. They're giving the parents a choice, yes? Am I just completely misunderstanding that part of the article?

I don't have a problem with a parent ocassionally spanking a child. But if I were a parent, I wouldn't sign up with a school that gave me those kinds of options. We might disagree with what kind of behavior merits what kind of discipline, and it's a battle I wouldn't feel like fighting. I'd rather go to a place that encourages parent/teacher conferences in which both parties can discuss what disciplinary measures need to be taken. I work in a program for juveniles who have gotten into some serious trouble, and part of the difficulty in working with them is that they're forced to accept rigid rules here and then they go home where it's a free for all. It's confusing and inconstant. To some degree it's necessary to keep rules at home and rules at school consistent. An almost impossible task. Obviously this school has tried to come up with a system that allows them to have more of a say in how discipline is dished out. They have a right to do that. And a parent has a right to say, "I'm sorry, I won't be signing any such nonsense." Or, taking a risk, signing it, and then down the line saying, "Uh, I signed it, but screw it. We're out of here. I don't agree with suspending a kid, and I don't agree with spanking. So, latah!"

This isn't a public school. This options were not forced down her throat.

I think the school is in the right here in terms of the actions they took. And she is, of course, free to do what she did, which is what's obviously best for her as a parent. So she's in the right, too.

I think she liked the school. Maybe it's terrific. And so she took a chance that she'd never have to deal with the option, but her kid turns out to have other plans. So it didn't work out for her. Sorry sister. You and the kid lose. She'll find another school that's a better fit for them both, I'm sure.

Perhaps she thought that spanking was left to the more outragous offenses - ditching school perhaps, using profanity at the teacher sort of thing?

Or murder!

No, that would step things up a bit.

Expulsion or Burned at the Stake. Attempted murder might involve expulsion or a public flogging.

Still, the school would be giving options. And it's not like the parent had to sign the damn agreement.