Anticipating a backlash

I wrote the following letter to the Worthing Herald in response to a right wing fanatic who advocated caning and birching children as a way to keep the little blighters in line.

If you oppose child abuse, you can write to the Worthing Herald letters@worthingherald.co.uk

"I do not know whether Francine Stephenson's charming suggestion that
children should be beaten is based on research or she sucked it out of
her thumb. Since she cites no research we can assume the latter. I was a
teacher for 32 years. During that time, I did not work for a school
where children were beaten.

"I can assure Francine Stephenson that the children who were worst
behaved were the ones who were beaten by their parents. This suggests
that her theory does not hold water."

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My experience when I was a pupil was that the school bully was regularly outside the deputy head's office waiting for a caning. Did he stop being a bully? No. What we got was a bully with a sore backside.

I am still waiting for the evidence that beating children is a good idea. In 1986 it was outlawed in state schools. Until 1998 parents could still pay good money to have their children beaten in nice private schools.

Some relevant stories are

"Beaten for Jesus"
"Abuse in Boarding Schools" 
"The School of Hard Knocks"