From: Dweavertexas@aol.com
Subject: voting poll about corporal punishment

I vote NO. Dallas is a violent city. It has been one of the highest child abuse cities for many years. Violent people just have to hit someone it seems. The schools and children seem to be the target for hitting impulses. Regardless of the vote in the poll, wrong is still wrong. Does the majority have a right to legally hurt children? Do we take polls to see how many would like to legalize robbery, drugs, or murder? I don/t think so. Not only should a child be protected from assaults with paddles but they also should not be in a school setting where other children are hit, where they hear the crack of the paddle day in and day out, hear the crying and often screaming of children who are unfortunate enough to have abusive parents. Children are the last segment of our society who can legally be whipped. In my opinion, any principal or vice principal who puts a child through this should spend time in jail.

Also, the rules about having a witness for the assault is nothing new. It's been in the policy for as long as I can remember. But the rules are not followed anyway. What good does it do to have someone stand there and watch the beating? Did any one ever hear of a witness intervening in a whipping? The time to intervene is now before this terrible policy in put into effect. We need a policy to outlaw corporal punishment period. Hooray for Arlington, Ft Worth, Mansfield, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Galveston, and many more districts in Texas for abolishing corporal punishment, and also 28 complete states that have abolished it. Dallas is the only major city in Texas where corporal punishment is still allowed. This does not make many of us proud of this city. People should take their children out of the Dallas school system and home school them or try to find a private school that does not spank if they can afford it. The trouble is, most of the children who are still assaulted with boards are poor. Also, they are usually black and male. I can't believe that something like this could go on in a country that God has so blessed.

If the school board had done the job right the other night and voted out corporal punishment we could all focus completely on educating the students. As it stands, the battle must go on and endless hours of work will be involved in order to get the job done over.

Would you please read the story at www.dallasisd.com about the school board member who spearheaded the drive to keep corporal punishment in the schools? His conviction for domestic violence concerning spousal abuse got him into trouble so now he has a school board policy to assault children - and guess what? No one will get into trouble for hitting the children After all. they are merely children. It's legal in this child abuse state to beat children. So, instead of getting into trouble for beating your spouse, beat on the children, or have the schools do it for you.

Doyle Weaver - Dallas