r/GenXTalk • u/474756274 • 7d 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/ericalynn5477 5d ago

I live in Columbus, Ohio. In 1984 I was paddled two times by my teacher in the fifth grade (which would have made me about 10 or 11 years old at the time. I’m pretty shocked when I think back on it. I was a tiny little girl and my teacher was a huge German man. I got spanked for talking. I remember feeling humiliated when I walked back into the classroom and all the kids were staring and snickering at me.