It's not about the paddle at St. Aug, it's about parents' right to choose and 60 years of successful self-governance

Tonight, I spanked my son.  He's 7 years old and a joy to be around.  He's a happy kid who makes me laugh consistently.  Tonight, however, I instructed him to do something; and he ignored me.  I wasn't angry at all.  In fact, I knew exactly why he ignored me.  So I walked into the room where he was, asked him if he heard me, he acknowledged that he did; and I gave him one swift whack on his left buttocks then walked away.  He didn't cry, and it left no mark.  It startled him more than anything else, and that's exactly what I wanted.  It was a wake-up call to never ignore dad again.

Now, some bleeding heart, tree-hugging liberal (I am neither a conservative nor a Republican) is assuming, I'm sure, that I have this habit of arbitrarily beating my son at the drop of a hat.  Nope.  The last spanking he got from me was two years ago, and he hasn't repeated the behavior for which he got the spanking since.  That was the goal.  I don't "get off" on spanking my little dude.  The idea is to send the message that a bad decision will lead to a bad consequence in life.  Instead of talking to him until I'm blue in the face, I provide a non-violent physical reminder that something will happen when he makes not-so-great decision.  It works.

Yes, I have the nerve, bleeding-heart expert on abuse to say that my action was "non-violent".  Let's look at a definition from dictionary.com:

"vi·o·lent

"1.  acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force: a violent earthquake.

"2.  caused by injurious or destructive force: a violent death.

"3.  intense in force, effect, etc.; severe; extreme: violent pain; violent cold."

As we can see, there are specific characteristics that go with violent acts.  So, all of these folks who believe that there are administrators and teachers who stand around at St. Augustine High School, my alma mater, just waiting to rip through poor defenseless boys with paddles need to chill out.  I've been reading blogs that claim that using the paddle is an outdated, violent method of discipline, yet St. Aug is a school that has continued to impress the general public.  With a proven record of academic excellence and excellence in extracurricular activities, critics of St. Aug's method of discipline have yet to quantitatively prove that paddling does more harm than good.  In fact, it's more of a philosophical argument than a fact-based argument, because neither Archbishop Gregory Aymond nor other critics have yet to present an air-tight argument to show the public that paddling has done students more harm than good throughout the school's 60-year history.

And there are so many weak arguments against St. Aug's methods:

1. Corporal punishment compromises kids' self-esteem.  The class of 2011 earned more than $5 million in scholarships, the basketball team won the state championship, the school won the 2010 ACT College Readiness Award, the school boasts six Presidential Scholars throughout its history and there is more.  This is definitely not a school with students suffering from low self-esteem.  In fact, St. Aug grads are often accused of having too much self-esteem.
2. No other school paddles so St. Aug shouldn't either.  St. Aug carved its success path by taking bold, unique steps.  In the late 60's the school sued both the Krewe of Rex so the Marching 100 could participate in the then-all-White parade and it sued the Louisiana High School Athletic Association so the athletic teams could play in the then-all-White league.  St. Aug is also an all-boys, historically Black, Catholic institution.  Attempting to compare the school to most others is comparing apples and oranges.  Black teenagers often have unique issues that require sometimes unusual but hard-nosed methods.  That approach is what made St. Aug the success story that it is.
3. Paddling breeds violent behavior.  A man once told me that he made a delivery to St. Aug and thought the school had given the students the day off because the hallways were so quiet.  I told him that they were quiet because young men were in class learning.  How many schools would love to have that luxury?
4. "It's a new day."  Well, this is nothing but an ambiguous way of saying, "I got nothin'."  Black America went through a dreadful decade, in the 90's, of watching its young people turn to Gangsta Rap for lessons in pride and common sense.  It was during that time that America mistakenly backed down from young people.  A decade later, America begged for tough love to be introduced back into the rearing of young people as the children of that damaged goods decade are now parents.
5. Black teens need hugs.  Absolutely true.  When our boys do well, St. Aug alumni, educators, and parents shower them with compliments.  When they mess up, we shower them with advice.  When they mess up in school, teachers shower them with wisdom and encouragement.  Similarly after my little one got his whack, I treated him to a nice tickle session upon the successful completion of his mission.  Hugs are great, but life doesn't always deliver the wonderfully comfy vibe we want it to deliver in order to learn our lessons.

At the risk of becoming public enemy number one, I have to mention a situation I know of at another school.  It has been said for years, and it has been publicly supported by both students and parents, that there is a long-standing practice of deliberately holding talented students back so they can excel in athletics at this school.  Curiously, neither the New Orleans community nor the national community has raised any hell about this.  Parents know what they're signing up for when they enroll their kids in certain schools.  In fact, parents send their kids to particular schools, because they like what those schools provides.  It's all about understanding what will help your child become the best that he/she can be.  In the case of St. Aug, many graduates have uttered the words, "That school and the discipline saved my life."  What parent wouldn't want that?

I will attempt to be as clear as possible.  Everything isn't for everybody.  There are school policies that simply don't fit certain students even at some of the best schools in the land.  Therefore, you would be hard-pressed to find an alumnus of St. Augustine High School who believes that every school in America should or can educate their students the same way.

One thing most of us agree on is this--you can't successfully educate any student if he or she isn't ready to receive the lesson.  There is a way that St. Aug gets its students to receive the message, and it has been a proven formula for 60 years.