Guest Blog: Violence Does Not Teach

On Facebook, a lengthy exchange of written posts and ripostes by some of my Deming neighbors on HB 172 actually roused one person to cheer the armed policemen who recently used pepper spray on an eight year old in a Colorado classroom. “Kudos!” she wrote. “That kid will think twice next time.”

It is remarkable to witness such enthusiasm for police violence, appropriate or not, even when the subject is a child, with no equivalent enthusiasm for social workers and counselors who heal children’s hearts with listening and compassion. Children are not our enemies, but our deepest and most sacred responsibility.

Guest Blog: Lufkin ISD Reacts to Paddling Incident at Brookhollow Elementary

Last week, a Brookhollow Elementary mom reported that she was furious since her son had been spanked twice by the principal. She says the school did not have her consent to use corporal punishment on the fifth grader. In response, LISD’s Superintendent Roy Knight is not making any apologies.

Guest Blog – I-SS axes corporal punishment policy

The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education decided to wipe the district’s corporal punishment policy from the books during its monthly meeting Monday.

The board moved to strike down the policy in response to the North Carolina General Assembly’s recent ruling that districts with corporal punishment guidelines on their books can use them on students with disabilities if parents grant permission. That ruling would have forced I-SS to distribute some 2,500 letters to parents informing them of the policy and offering them an opportunity to either waive or accept it to be used on their children.

I-SS already had a directive in place against the use of corporal punishment.

Guest Blog – Prevent Child Abuse Texas Responds

Wendell Teltow, Executive Director of PCAT, received our December 17 message regarding their upcoming conference and has responded to criticism made therein by PTAVE board member Tom Johnson. In the interest of fairness, and with Mr. Teltow’s authorization, we now share with you below the email exchange that followed (including links to the referenced attachments).