I'm sure you guys have heard about it by now. Well, what do you think of Texas passing a bill allowing parents to hit their kids at home, and teachers to at school if parents agree to it.

Well, I'm for it. I think the crime, drug, and disrespect problems that live among America's youth today is do to lack of discipline. I don't think this is enough of a change, but it's a start.

This is TEXAS we are talking about. I agree that the YOUTH of today are totally disrespectful and undisciplined, I know enough of them in my town, but HITTING them is not the answer. TEXAS always handles everything with thuggism, there has to be a better way.

Since I don't have any kids, I really don't have the answer, maybe better discipline when they are still in diapers. Saying 'NO' once in a while when a child is young, helps. Teaching them to respect adults they know, parents, neighbors, their friend's parents, teachers, the little old lady down the street might be a good place to start. Some parents are just lazy and let their kids run wild with no disciplne whatsoever. So, yes it is a big problem and an annoying one for adults without kids that have to put up with it.

The problem today is that most all parents just want their kids to be popular. They don't care if that means them getting involved in drugs or getting into trouble. Garbage shows like the O.C. are always pressure kids to "dress this way, and rebel against authority" and the parents don't step in.

I think the first step to countering this is not to beat kids, but place them in jail. I mean, I could get away with pretty much anything and never step foot into juvenille hall. For example, at my school, we haved kids that pull knives on others, harass/bully people each day, cuss at teachers religiously, get into fights once a month, etc... Guess what? 1/100 of these kids has actually been in juvenille hall. I'm willing to bet that if our school lawmakers grew some balls and followed through with stricter rules, atleast 50% of the kids would drop the four shades of tough attitude.

Oh no! Texas is going bassackwards. Most school systems have abolished this practice. In Memphis, Tennessee, one of the last hold outs of corporal punishment narrowly abolished it and I cheered. And let me tell you I WAS A TEACHER THERE and I admit I was "too nice" as even the kids would say. I had some problems with the little ones acting out and I would take recess away, used a reward system, and called parents. Most of the teachers did these things also but would supplement this with trips to the office so the offending kids could get paddled. One time, one of my boys was mistakenly identified as having participated in a food fight. He was paddled before I could get to him. This boy made straight E's in conduct always. What could I do to make it go away? Nothing. That year I had 14 boys and 7 girls. (2nd grade) The boys weren't too bad considering (some were just amazing human beings) but I never sent them to the office.

While growing up in Memphis in the 70's, teachers were allowed to hit whenever they thought it was warranted. I was never hit which was a miracle because even the quiet ones would get caught up in the "punish the whole class" mentality. It was terrifying to me just to watch the others get paddled. I went to a high school for a year that was mainly minority and if a student was late three times they would take them out of the class and paddle them. IN HIGH SCHOOL I remember the idiot that was the principal's aid. He should have been behind bars. When they closed the school I went to one in a prestigious neighborhood. They did not paddle, they would have the ones who were late three times or more clean tables at the cafeteria.

It is a relief that they no longer do this (paddle that is). It really was not helping the disipline there, not where I taught anyway. Its intimidation and humiliation and it just didn't work.

Too bad for the children of Texas.

Well, I'll be interested to see if their youth's drug abuse and crime rate go down. But like I said, I think what I mentioned would be a better idea.

From what you are describing concerning the behavior at your school, greyfox, I am not inclined to disagree with you at all. One would think the police would be called when someone pulls a knife out or injures someone. Concerning cussing the teacher, that should not be tolerated. They need to suspend the student and place them in an alternative program if they do not shape up. Those alternative programs are very structured but they don't beat the kids.

It sounds like your high school is a war zone. Things can be done to improve if the administration just would do what it takes. You shouldn't have to be in that chaos.

But please know, greyfox. Prisons are not going to help these kids. They only serve to dehumanize a person and many learn more about crime from being there. Usually, I don't advocate the US Military, but for some of these kids, the ROTC wouldn't be bad for them. They need good role models also. Maybe you could get some of the younger kids involved in the martial arts classes you are into, greyfox. They probably would get into it and it would be a positive outlet for them.

Whoa, back it up, gang. First of all, as I understand it, the law passed in Texas allows parents to hit their children, not teachers. Teachers (or other non-parental adults) should never be permitted to lay a hand on a child. Period.

But parents? The trouble with the law is that it apparently gives no guidelines as to what is allowed and what isn't. Should a parent be allowed to give a child one good smack? Perhaps, under the right circumstances. But should a parent be allowed to throttle a child, perhaps for no good reason? Obviously, no. How does this law differentiate between what's acceptable and what's not?

I have only rarely laid a hand on either of my children, and if we're playing true confessions here, I admit that it was usually done out of anger. That's wrong. Just for the record, we're talking quick swats on the butt only here, not actually spankings (which I used to get from my parents--I even got slapped across the face once, for lying--but I never did it again!). There are times, I think, when a strategically-timed smack might be appropriate, might help teach a lesson. If nothing else it shows the child that the parent is the one in charge, and there are times, with a child who is acting spoiled or otherwise badly, that this might be appropriate. Maybe. If talking fails, and it often does when children are young, it might be the only alternative. Young children do need to know that the adults are in charge. The trouble is that too many adults will end up abusing their authority.

In my state, the joke is that if a parent hits a child, the child will call DYFUS on the parent. It's really not funny. While it's meant to protect children from abuse, I think it gives them entirely too much power. Children do need to know that there are rules of behavior and that they are not in charge. But like abortion, hitting should be rare. Used very sparingly, it might sometimes be the most effective weapon in a parent's arsenal.

Well, the problem with simply suspending kids as that most view it as a free vacation. They don't care if it looks like shit on their permanent record, because they don't plan to go to college. However, I can't think of a single person that likes being in a cell.