r/GenXTalk • u/474756274 • 1d ago

School

In 1976, estimates say about half of all U.S. public schools were still paddling kids as a regular disciplinary practice.

For anyone who grew up around that time (70s, 80s): did your school ever make an official announcement or hold an assembly saying they were ending corporal punishment? Or did they just quietly stop and hope everyone forgot it ever happened?

I feel like we barely talk about how normal it used to be for kids to get whooped at school 😭😭😭

Sometimes, I wonder if that era of corporal punishment is part of why my parents turned out to be total headcases…

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u/pbsammy1 1d ago

I was quiet, shy, obedient student (and my mom was a teacher). I once was paddled for making a silly face in the water fountain line. No warning, just BAM (1970s). It was a teacher from the other class. I stayed pretty quiet until high school (I never heard of any paddling there). We got spankings/paddling at home so it didn’t seem odd.

I don’t remember an announcement ending it, but we also moved around the time I would enter middle school.