My view is colored by a different background to say , Bob’s or AW , as I am rsident in the UK but spend some good portion of my time as a visiting professor of social science/education in the Deep South. I have been in touch with Southern education since the late 70′ so I’ve seen , albeit at a distance developments over time .
From the comparative view of two educational systems (UK/USA) I think I am fairly clear that the dynamic which drives paddling in the south is a moral driver, which gets its support from both parenting in general, and from large sectors of the Christian church. Education doesn’t exist in a vacuum and corporal punishment cannot be maintained where local support is absent.
