When I read somebody story of corporal punishment negatively impacting them, I take that seriously – and the first thing I do is try and work out whether or not what they described would be likely to have taken place in a school where corporal punishment was being used appropriately. If it is clear that what they describe would not have happened in a school where corporal punishment was being used appropriately – and a lot of the time it is – then while I am sorry for what happened to them, their story is no reason to reassess the policies and practices of schools where it is being used appropriately.