David
“I must say, I was punished physically on a semi-regular basis and it doesn’t really bother me”
I’m not at all surprised. This isn’t about even-handed punishment, however unpleasant (within reason). I’ve always been a much harsher disciplinarian than my boys’ mom. But I strive for evenhandedness and clear (if somewhat high) standards. Kids don’t mind a challenge, even if they sometimes fail, as long as the challenge is fairly applied and somewhat within their reach.
But what these teachers did ? Well, suppose a cop had a bad day, got spit on by a perp, “lost her cool” and did a tuneup on the perp with a stick ? Would we even be having this discussion ? Suppose she whined how hard it was to be a cop ? Would we be all tea and sympathy ?
Early childhood teachers have far more authority over their charges than police do over their prisoners. Why would we expect any less than professional behavior ?
