It’s 8 a.m. and I am in my bathroom brushing my teeth while listening to National Public Radio. I hear the local news reporter announce that a statewide education task force is recommending that corporal punishment be banned in elementary schools. My heart stops momentarily, and toothpaste drips onto my shirt from my jaw, which has fallen to the floor.

Arizona allows capital punishment in elementary schools? What the hell?
Oh. Corporal punishment. Spanking. Got it.

I change my shirt, collect myself but remain alarmed. I had no idea that, depending on which school district a child is in, he or she could be paddled or spanked by a teacher or principal without a parent’s permission. Moreover, a parent doesn’t even need to be notified.

I cannot imagine being an elementary-aged student in a school that allowed spanking as a remedy for misbehavior. I’m terrified of violence, and it would not have mattered to me if I was the one being spanked or if it was an out-of-line schoolmate. I would have constantly felt at risk of physical harm.

Hurting people, especially children, is wrong. Spanking establishes a fear relationship. If you mess up, little kid, I will hit you with this rod.

As adults, I think we have a responsibility to show younger generations that violence is not the answer, even though most adults have a tough time reaching this conclusion. Interestingly, we generally don’t hit other adults when they “misbehave.” We don’t bend them over our knee and slap them when they interrupt us, when they run on a pool deck and, usually, not even when they hit someone else.

But it’s OK to hit children. That’s sad. How about we “use our words,” just like we make kids do? We discount the intelligence of our youth when we decide they only respond to violence.

While I’m surprised that parents spank their kids, period, I am astonished that it’s legal for a child’s teacher or principal to do it.

School is supposed to be a safe environment where children feel free to explore and indulge their amazing, sponge-like brains. The threat of a paddle-wielding adult could certainly detract from their educational experience.

According to a recent article in The Arizona Republic, Arizona only has a handful of districts that allow paddling, and of those districts, few actually practice it. However, 20 states allow corporal punishment, and in Texas alone, more than 49,000 students were paddled at least once in 2006, according to the article.

I am hard-pressed to believe that children truly develop a sense of respect for teachers who hit them. I can easily imagine a child being saddled by feelings of sadness, disrespect and alienation while at school.

I hope this outdated and insensitive mode of classroom management is outlawed soon so that our country’s children can learn in an environment free from physical punishment by the hands of adults.

Reach Becky at rrubens1@asu.edu.