RISKY BUSINESS: Uncontrolled Variables and the Use of Corporal Punishment
by Terry Kopansky, former Nashville, TN high school principal
(Tennessee is one of the most prolific paddling states in the U.S.)
The administration of corporal punishment is risky business due to the many variables that either cannot be controlled or are not controlled. In school districts where corporal punishment is allowed educators and parents alike seldom stop to consider all that can go wrong until a child is injured, a law suit is filed, or the local television news team arrives at school to report on punishment gone awry. Some of the variables associated with the use of corporal punishment are as follows: