Driving down the highway several years ago I remember listening to a radio talk show host debate with his guest the merits of spanking children. The talk show host was a bigger proponent of spanking by parents than his guest. The host also argued in favor of corporal punishment in public schools while his guest disagreed.

I was not in a position to call in and share my opinion but I definitely had one. I still do.

I believe a parent has an obligation to lovingly discipline a child. At a young age, when reasoning doesn’t work, spanking — sparingly and wisely applied — can be effective. The pointy-headed ninnies who would take that right away from parents should be spanked as should the brutes who take spanking across the line from discipline to abuse.

That said, I am against spanking in schools. What I have seen and experienced leads me to believe that justice is not always meted out fairly in the school system.

My first personal encounter with corporal punishment was in seventh grade when I was slapped across the face by our homeroom teacher, a woman of ample girth and power. She smacked me one day while my buddy, Scott, was whispering to me.

That seemed unfair but a few days later, as I whispered something to Scott, Ms. Rambo gave him some of what I’d had earlier. I guess it evened out, except for the fact that Scott and I weren’t the only students who whispered during class. No one else was slapped.

I decided that who you are (or aren’t) is as likely to get you punished as what you do.

My theory was proven a few years later when, as I sat on a school bus waiting to go home, I observed a group of younger boys teasing one of their classmates.

I knew the object of the teasing. Tommy (not his real name) was one of several children whose father was an alcoholic and rumored to be abusive to his wife and kids. Their mother was a kind woman who brought her large family to Sunday school and church each week. Tommy was anything but cute and he had a hot temper. His thick glasses and unruly hair added to his odd appearance.

I watched as several boys from so-called “better” families grabbed Tommy’s cap and played “keep-away” with it. This went on for several minutes. Tommy finally exploded and began screaming and swinging at his classmates.

Then — and not a second sooner — a teacher came out and yelled at Tommy, dragging him kicking and screaming into the school building.

I recall being incensed with the injustice and wanting to go to Tommy’s defense. Doing so would mean missing a bus ride home and probably another visit to the principal’s office. I remained on the bus.

I don’t know if or how my young acquaintance was punished but I do know that the boys who were teasing him walked away laughing.

To this day — some 60 years later — I am ashamed I didn’t get off the bus and defend Tommy. The incident confirmed my belief that who you are (or aren’t) is as likely — sometimes more likely — to get you punished as what you do.

Most teachers I know strive to be fair to all their students and don’t want the option to spank or slap their students. I remember a few instructors who found smacking a kid easier than using more intelligent means of keeping their classroom under control. These are the folks I worry about.

With corporal punishment in schools there will inevitably be children spanked or slapped for reasons beyond their behavior.

I realize much has changed in families and classrooms over the past 60 years but classrooms still have misbehaving students and frustrated instructors. Playing “whack-a-mole” with the kids won’t solve either problem.

Sensible spanking of a child at home should remain a parent’s prerogative. If my children were still in school, however, I would not want a teacher or administrator slapping or spanking them.

Many discipline problems today are rooted in poor parenting at home. Whacking these kids at school will do little or nothing to fix that.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. © 2025 by Huisman Communications.