If Canada Bans Spanking, Should U.S. Do the Same?

Absolutely not. This is a prime example of the craziness they call PC running amok and destroying any semblance of common sense in its' wake. I was raised in a time when kids were taught the real differences between right and wrong, and that there were consequences for doing stupid things. When we were in school, we respected the teachers and all the faculty, and if we got ourselves into trouble we usually got a good paddling (which served as a double deterrant, in that it was painful and humiliating). Chances are, we'd get another spanking when we got home, if our parents knew of our infraction. Discipline was not overdone, but it was maintained. We all learned to read and write, to do basic arithmetic, and came out with at least a reasonable understanding of science, history, and acceptable social skills. If we failed, we failed... there was no "feel good" alternative. As a result, most of us turned out to be decent, productive, and responsible citizens. Paddling did not scar us, to the contrary, it built character. My dad was a teacher after I had graduated, and he loved his job. The kids in his class not only respected him, but they liked him. Sadly, after they removed effective discipline options from the schools, students became unruly and routinely challenged teachers, with no respect and no fear. They became destructive, deliberately tearing up expensive equipment. Dad finally retired early, feeling he had no control of his class, and in reality he didn't. Today we see schools spending five or ten times more than they spent when I was in school per student, and the kids are graduating with very limited education and skills, on a far lower level than we did. I feel this is a direct result of a lack of discipline in both the homes and the schools. Teachers are afraid of their own students. It seems many parents are afraid of their own children. Chaos is running rampant because those who are supposed to be in charge have no allowable tools to maintain order. Such ideas as banning spanking are a mockery of common sense and a recipe for abject failure. On the contrary, perhaps corporal punishment should be a requirement, but first society as a whole must reclaim its' sense of practical right and wrong, otherwise no one will know which actions should merit punishment and which should not. The publishers of this medical journal, and those who authored this article, should be run out of the country, preferably after a good tar and feathering, as it sounds like they coud use a dose of discipline themselves.
.