Corporal Punishment.

I am absolutely addicted to CNN.com. For some off the wall reason, I love the way the website is laid out, the way the articles are written, and the topics they choose to high-light every 15 minutes. I try to read it a few times a day, sometimes more but usually never less. Today as I sat down with my morning cup of coffee (no different then any other day) I typed in the web address and see a headline about 223,000 students endured corporal punishment...awesome a headline that grabbed my attention!

I click on the link to find that it is still legal to use corporal punishment in 21 states. Of those 21 states, 13 use it on a regular basis. As I was reading the article I began to wonder which 13 use it on a regular basis. Growing up and being educated in Florida and getting a degree in Education, I was convinced that Florida couldn't possibly be among those 21 states. Oh how wrong I was! Not only was Florida on the list, but they were also among the 13 states that use it on a regular basis. How could I miss this? During college, I volunteered in elementary schools on a regular basis and I'd like to believe I have a fair grasp on the education laws for the state of Florida (or so I thought). I have a ton of friends who are teachers and they have never once mentioned anything about this...how could I miss this?

This isn't a blog to post my opinion right or wrong about corporal punishment, it is simply to educate people that it is still happening in our classrooms. I was pretty surprised!