Spank him!

[Betty]

Suspended For No Spanking

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - A six-year-old boy has been suspended from a Christian school in Illinois after his mother refused to spank him.

That's according to the mother. Michelle Fallaw-Gabrielson says her son had been piling up disciplinary notes for such offenses as talking out of turn, chewing gum, and bringing toys to school.

She says she knew he was a disciplinary problem, but she never anticipated what occurred on Wednesday. She says when she arrived at Schaumburg Christian School to pick the boy up, an assistant administrator ordered her to spank him. When she refused, the official said her son was suspended.

The next day, the mother withdrew the first-grader from the school


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What do you think of that!? I know that any school that "ordered" me to do *anything* would get an earful. Just where do schools get off thinking that they can tell parents to spank their kids. Now - I haven't spanked in a long time - but both my kids have been spanked before. However, I woudn't think of spanking them for bringing toys to school or talking out of turn. I say that the guy that ordered the Mom to spank should be spanked himself. Or maybe he'd like that.

How 'bout you? Your child's school ever "order" you to do something?

[Gemini Cricket]

The mother did the right thing. And no school, private or otherwise, should ever dictate anything to a parent. Especially spanking a kid. Yuck.

[mhrc4]

should have spanked the assistant administrator, upside the head.

if you ask me.

[dsnylndmom]

Oh that's just wrong, no school is going to tell me when and where to spank my child.

[Ghoulish Delight]

For the record, she KNEW the school had that policy. They make enrolees sign an agreement. The mother claims she didn't sign the agreement because she does not believe in spanking, but I highly doubt that. If she hadn't, either the school wouldn't have allowed them in, or they would have had to make some other deal as to how to handle it. There's no way they have that policy and then just kinda let someone not sign it.

[tracilicious]

I agree with GD. While I think it is an idiotic policy for a school to have, it is a private Christian school that appears to state it's policies plainly in the handbook. The article I read said that the mother claimed to know about the policy, but that it didn't say anything about suspension. My bet is that the mother knew the policy and disagreed with it, but like the academic program at the school and didn't figure she would ever have a problem. I would have done the same thing in her shoes though as far as withdrawing him. Not that you'd catch me enrolled in that school in the first place.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I'd only write to mirror what GD and Traci said.

Though I do think it sounds like the kid deserved the spanking he won't be getting.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Eliza Hodgkins 1812

I'd only write to mirror what GD and Traci said.

Though I do think it sounds like the kid deserved the spanking he won't be getting.

I'd agree that the kid does sound like he needs more discipline, but there are so many more effective ways to handle it. The article mentioned that his parents are going through a divorce, so he's probably acting out a bit, other than that his offenses are being chatty, chewing gum, and bringing toys to school. Most six year olds I know of are chatty, and I'm sure that first grade teachers have some way to deal with it that doesn't involve hitting. The gum and the toys the mom should just be more vigilant about making sure he doesn't bring them.

He doesn't sound like a delinquent (why does that look spelled wrong?), he just sounds like a six year old whose life is going through a lot of changes. I really don't see what good it would do to tell him, "You've committed several offenses over the past few weeks, now I'm going to hit you for them, don't do anything on this list again."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the "every spanking is abuse" camp. Though I don't use that form of punishment because I don't think it teaches a darn thing. My point is that one can have a disciplined, well behaved kid without ever raising a hand to them.

[Prudence]

If that really is the school policy, I find it astonishing that other parents thought it was a good idea to allow the school to dictate the manner in which the parents would discipline their own children. Does the school also set bedtimes and monitor after-school snacks?

[€uroMeinke]

I can't help but think of Milgram's controversial experiment in which test subjects would give presumably leathal doses of electric shocks to another presumed test subject all under the direction of a man in a white lab coat.

Of course the experiment demonstrated the danger of obediance and authority, but the test was conducted among presumed stranges. How much easier it is to hurt strangers than loved one's? I think we should turn this principles office into a test lab to answer that question.

Fascinating the things you can get away with when people think you have power.