by Jenny Tolley

Created on: July 11, 2011   Last Updated: July 25, 2011

Back in 1981, when I was in the fourth grade, I had a teacher who had a paddle that was shaped like a whale.  it was a common joke among his students that whenever someone misbehaved, they would get a "whaling".  The teacher would call the kid up to the front of the classroom, tell him or her to bend over and place his or her hands on the chalkboard, and prepare for a public flogging.  I had heard about Mr. A's whale shaped paddle the year before, when one of my neighbors had him as a teacher.  He often told me about some of the kids who were paddled in front of the class.    

I was nervous the following year when I had Mr. A as a teacher.  He turned out to be a good enough teacher, entertaining, encouraging, and energetic.  But he still had that whale paddle and paddled several students in front of the class.  Then one day, it happened to me.  Thirty years later, I still haven't forgotten the pain and humiliation of that day.

I was sitting at my desk.  We had just taken a quiz and Mr. A had asked everyone to exchange papers so that we could grade our neighbor's work.  He told us to be quiet.  I told the girl in front of me that my paper might be a little messy.  Apparently, that was enough to warrant a paddling.  Mr. A called me up to the front of the classroom, told me to bend over and place my hands on the blackboard, and then proceeded to paddle me in front of a bunch of nine year olds.  I don't remember the paddling hurting that much, but I do remember being extremely upset and humiliated by it.  I doubt I learned anything else that day at school.

I went home that afternoon and my parents wanted to know why I was so upset.  I told them about Mr. A's whale shaped paddle.  My dad, who was always a big proponent of corporal punishment, said I deserved it.  In fact, he acted like he wanted to give me a repeat performance of the corporal punishment.  My mom was more concerned and seemed very upset that this man had hit me in front of my peers.  Unfortunately, she did nothing about it, thus letting me know loud and clear that she wouldn't protect me from other adults.  I later ended up being sexually abused by a trusted neighbor with a penchant for pornography.

I am not a big believer in corporal punishment.  It was the way my father usually disciplined me and as far as I can tell, it lead mostly to fear, anger, and humiliation.  To this

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>