Is It Time To Return To Discipline? Should Montana Go “Old School”?

Yesterday my phone blew up with texts from friends here in Montana.  Apparently, a school district in Missouri (my home state) has decided to bring back "the paddle" when it comes to disciplining children.

I'm of the age where I remember the paddle; in fact, I may have been on the receiving end of a swat or two in my younger years. However, I'm also of the age that things have changed a whole lot, so I was very surprised when I learned about this.

According to the Washington Post, the Cassville School District, which is in southwest Missouri, adopted the policy back in June and alerted parents during a recent open house.

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I'm very curious to see how this is going to play out.  For many, the idea of going back to the old ways will most certainly seem appealing, while others will no doubt scream of barbarism.

I'm also very curious to see what Montanans think about this. Is this something that Montanans would like to see come back to schools?  Do you think it would help?  As a parent, would you be willing to sign off on letting the school physically discipline your child, or do you think that's a bad idea?

For many, the lack of discipline is believed to have led to our current situation related to bullying, school violence, and disrespect. Does discipline correct that? A case could be made that it worked for generations and when it was phased out, that's when issues started to spiral out of control.

On the other side, do we really want to have to resort to physically punishing children in school? Are there other ways that would be more beneficial to the student?

Please vote in our poll and share with us your opinion on the matter.