It had always been a small village, and now there were only about 1500
inhabitants.  Life had changed far less than in the nearby towns and cities.
 Everyone knew everyone else; front doors were never locked; people took care
of each other and each other's families. The local school was untroubled by
the problems facing schools in larger cities.  Thus, it was a small shock to
the villagers when the edict came down from the state and county boards of
education: "As of this date, corporal punishment of any kind is forbidden in
public schools, and any teacher or administrator who uses corporal punishment
may be dismissed for cause immediately." 

The village had only one school, enrolling about 300 children from
kindergarten through high school. The 15 teachers varied in their attitudes
towards discipline; some ruled the classroom with only a occasional stern
word or glance, while others reserved the right, in certain circumstances, to
apply a paddle, in class or in private, or to ask the principal to apply it.
 The parents all agreed that teachers should have such a right.  The parents
had been paddled, when necessary, in their own school days, and it seemed an
effective, easy, measurable, and fair way to discipline their children on
occasion.  Many parents appreciated the fact that a teacher or principal was
disciplining their children for them.  Others would often add a spanking
their own of to any child sent home with a note explaining why the child's
bottom had been paddled at school.  Whether parents spanked their children at
home or not, they unanimously supported the school's right to warm the seats
of their children's pants when necessary, and they unanimously expressed
dismay and anger at the county's attempt to interfere with their school's
practices.

The result of this adult anger was a village meeting, called with the express
purpose of protesting this government usurpation of their parental rights.
 The usual speeches were made about faceless bureaucrats and pointless
legislation, but no concrete proposals came forth until Mrs. Beeman, mother
of two elementary school children took the floor.

"I think our writing letters is a waste of time," she said.  "We are not
going to change the law in this state or the rules of our county.  If we want
to support our teachers, we have  to do it ourselves.  If we don't do this,
we are soon going to see the same degree of childhood rebellion and
misbehavior which is all too prevalent in other communities.   Some children
will behave without correction, but others simply need a good, sound spanking
from time to time.   And I have a suggestion about how  we can deal with this
new situation, without jeopardizing our teacher's jobs, without breaking any
laws, and without bringing the county school board into the picture in any
way.  What we have to do is take the law into our own hands --- in the best
way possible!"

"What I mean is that we can show support for our teachers by doing part of
their job for them.  Maybe they can't spank our kids - - - but we still can!
 We can set up a system so that any teacher who would, before this ridiculous
regulation, have taken a child to the coat closet for a well-deserved
paddling can be assured that the child will be paddled by one of us.  The
children simply need to know that they will still receive appropriate
discipline, albeit not from a teacher.   I know, there are many details which
would have to be worked out.  Who spanks the children?  Who decides how,
where, and when the child is spanked?  But these are just details.  I want my
children treated fairly, but I want them to know that the consequences of bad
behavior will be certain, swift, and painful.  I will help assure those
consequences for my children and yours.  What do you all think?"

The discussion which followed was lively, but not extended.  Agreement was
general.  A committee was formed, and after two weeks of discussion, a plan
was developed and circulated to all the adults in the village for their
approval.  It read:

~From: The Village Council on School Discipline
To: All villagers

We propose the following plan to assure continuity of discipline for our
children in school:

1.  A teacher who, in the past, would have used corporal punishment or would
have sent the child to the principal for such punishment will now, instead,
fill out a simple form, detailing the circumstances of the child's behavior
and what kind of punishment that teacher would, in the past, have
administered.  For example, the teacher might write: " ______ was rude and
belligerent to me.  I would paddle her ten times, clothed, in front of the
class."

2.  There will be a committee of parents available at the school each day.
 The committee will rotate so that no parent needs be present at school more
often than once every two weeks, although parents who wish to volunteer for
more frequent service may do so.  That committee will decide on the child's
punishment, place, time, and method, and assign the task to a parent to
perform.

3.  All parents in the village will have the obligation to administer
punishments, on a rotating basis.  Parents will be assigned days of service
on the basis of random selection.  Thus, on any given day, there will be one
father and one mother in the village who will stand by to perform the duties
assigned by the school committee.  This random selection will insure some
degree of fairness; that is, a child who is spanked might receive a harder
spanking  from one parent than from another, but this outcome will be a
result of chance, not intention.

4.  The committee will have absolute leeway as to form, time, place, and
degree of punishment.  Their decisions may include any of the following:  a
private spanking, clothed, or on underclothing, or on the bare buttocks, by
hand, ruler, paddle, or hairbrush, or a public spanking in any of those ways.
  The only restrictions on the committee's decision is that, in order to
avoid any possiblity of overly gentle or severe punishment, no child will be
spanked by one of his or her own parents as part of this program; if a child
is assigned a spanking on a day when that child's parent is responsible for
punishment, a committee member will substitute (what happens in the home
afterwards is up to the families involved).

5.  A unanimous vote of the community is necessary to implement these
suggestions.  By  voting in their favor, a parent indicates agreement to
perform duties as assigned and to see that his or her children are notified
and required to abide by these rules.  Any child who does not cooperate fully
with the adult assigned to administer punishment will be reported to the
committee and automatically receive a public spanking in the village square. 

The report was passed without dissent within a few days. In one week,
committee assignments and parent rosters were in place.  After almost a month
 during which the school teachers had been forced to abstain from any
discipline other than warnings and admonishments, some  students had begun to
behave in an unruly manner, and there were several who would test the system
from the very first day.  

It was Adam Barnett, grade 7, who slipped first.  Asked why his homework was
missing, he replied, "The dog ate it!"  He got a good laugh from his class,
but he also received a small slip of paper to carry to room 103, where three
parents awaited him.  They read the paper, discussed the situation, and came
to an easy conclusion.   Adam was informed that he would receive a dozen
strokes of the paddle, then and there, from Mrs. Warren, the parent on duty.
 Mrs. Warren and Adam retired next door, and shortly the sounds of twelve
smacks on the seat of Adam's jeans were clearly audible.  So was Adam's
reaction, and even though it may not have been heard in the classroom, Adam's
red face and gingerly way of sitting down again at his desk told the other
pupils all they needed to know.

 Susie Tompkins, grade 9,  was in another classroom and did not know of
Adam's fate only half an hour later when she got in an argument with another
girl.  It was not just the fact that the teacher saw her upraised middle
finger which  led to Suzie's trip to room 103; it was also her defiance when
asked to report there.  "You can't do anything to me," she said.  "I know
that teachers can't punish students any more."  Five minutes later, Suzie
knew better, as she lay across Mrs. Warren's lap, dress raised, panties
lowered, and felt the effects of the Warren palm across her bottom for a full
five minutes. 

At lunch time, word swiftly spread through the school.  Spankings were back,
paddlings had resumed, and it was the parents, not the teachers, who would
put you over their knees if you got in trouble.  Not that the word, passed
from mouth to mouth, changed things that much: children still tend to forget
their behavior, and by the end of the day, two more had visited room 103 and
been soundly spanked, one fourth grader, on her panties, by hand,  and one
sixth grade boy, bare bottom.  His howls were quite audible throughout much
of the school.

In just a few days, the system was well understood by all concerned, and
while spankings grew less frequent, once all the students knew they were
inevitable when their behavior justified them, they did continue now and
then.  Often a day or two went by without any child being sent to room 103,
but sometimes a classroom or schoolyard fight would result in several
children reporting for punishment simultaneously. The committee soon
discovered that, in these circumstances, it was most effective for all
children to be notified of the extent of their punishment together and then,
while one went into the next room for the actual spanking to be given, the
others had to wait and listen to the sounds of a behind being smacked and the
resultant cries.  This not only caused greater embarrassment for the child
being spanked but also created a stronger sense of apprehension and awe among
the children anticipating their impending visits over the laps of whichever
parents happened to be on the giving end of the day's bottom-warming.

It was just one such group spanking which led to a decision which changed the
life of the village considerably.  Peter Farnum, fourteen, had been sentenced
to a very severe paddling on the bared buttocks for having written
obscenities in a friend's book.  In his desire to escape punishment, he had
implicated others, saying that even if he had written the words, at least he
had not written them on the school walls, as some others had.  His accusation
led to a fairly lengthy committee discussion about dealing with this new
offense which had not, after all, been reported by a teacher.  Still, it was
extremely serious, an offense, in fact, against the whole community.  The
three other children implicated were brought in and eventually confessed.
 The paddle was clearly called for.  But the committee felt that this, in
itself, was not enough.  They were not about to assign punishment on behalf
of a teacher but of the whole village.  Everyone in town had been offended by
the disgusting graffiti on the school walls; everyone deserved to know that
the culprits were identified, and to share in the satisfaction of seeing them
duly punished.  And the children in the village, especially the older ones,
needed an example set of what might await them if they were found engaged in
behavior which violated community norms.  If they were adults, they might
face public trial and prison. As children, why not be subject to a public
spanking?

Thus it was that, Sunday at noon, shortly after the town's churches had
finished their services, any citizen who wished to attend could be found the
main square of the village, in front of the bandstand and the Civil War
Memorial.  On that bandstand, sitting on a bench, were three adults and three
nervous teenagers, aware that they were sitting there far more comfortably
than they would be able to for some time.  Everyone in town, including their
friends, had seen the notice posted in shop windows and light poles during
the week:

Notice:  All Villagers
By order of the School Discipline Committee,  Timothy Busfield, Becky
Andrews,and Lawrence Albritton, having confessed to maliciously vandalizing
the school, will be publicly spanked in the town square at noon this coming
Sunday. In future, other citizens below the age of eighteen may anticipate
similar punishment for offenses against the public.  Parents are encouraged
to attend with their children. 

Precisely at noon, as a hush fell upon the crowd, the head of the School
Discipline Committee, Andrew Clark,  mounted the platform and addressed them.
 "Thank you for joining us and lending your support," he said.  "I believe we
are about to see a new dawn of law and order among our younger people today.
These three youngsters probably did not think very hard about the damage they
were doing, or what the expense would be to repair it, or how it would offend
others.  It is natural for young people to be thoughtless in this way.  We
have not asked you to come simply to shame them, or to embarrass them,
although this is, in truth, part of our goal.  More important, your presence
demonstrates the desire of us all to have a better, cleaner, more orderly
community.  It also shows your love for your children, and for these
children, for those who love children are willing to discipline them, and by
sharing this time together, we share responsibility for their welfare as well
as our own.  I would also like to thank the three volunteers who will be
responsible today for administering punishment, and I urge all of you to
share in this task so that, if your own children should need similar
discipline in the future, you will find others willing to provide it.

" Timothy Busfield, please step forward.  By your own admission, you were
responsible for providing spray paint and for spraying several offending
phrases on the school wall.  It is the recommendation of the committee that
you receive 40 strokes of the paddle on your bare buttocks.  Please prepare
yourself."

Everyone rose from the bench except Mrs. Porter, aged 33, mother of two
younger children, a top tennis player who, at this moment, was seen to be
holding not a racket but a ping-pong paddle from which the rubber facing had
been removed, the wood sanded and polished.  Timothy, age twelve, was
obviously nervous about lowering his trousers in front of the crowd, but he
had, it was clear, been told ahead of time that any hesitation on his part
would result in extra strokes.  He resolved his dilemma as best he could by
undoing his belt and letting his trousers fall around his ankles and then,
bending over Mrs. Porter's lap, sliding his underpants down with a swift
motion which allowed only the most momentary glimpse of what seemed to be an
erection brought on by the tension of the moment.  There was second or two of
silence before the sound of the paddle striking Timothy's bared bottom was
heard, a stifled "Oww!" followed, and then the paddling began in earnest.
 Mrs. Porter was deliberate and measured: each smack was applied about two
seconds after Timothy's unwilling but very audible acknowledgement of the
previous spank's sting:  

Smack!  Owww! Smack!  Ouch!  Smack!  Oh, Ow!  Smack! OWWW! SMACK!  OWW,
OHHHH! The spanking lasted only about two minutes, but its effectiveness, not
only on Timothy, but on the audience, was clear.  Timothy arose, was ordered
to face away from the crowd; his bright red bottom cheeks gave clear
testimony of the severity of Mrs. Porter's application of the paddle.  The
other two teenagers standing on the platform lowered their eyes and scuffed
their feet as they pictured themselves with similarly flaming backsides in a
few minutes.

Mr. Clark stepped forward again.  "Very well, Timothy, you may pull up your
trousers now.  I am sure you have learned a good lesson, and I am sure your
classmates watching have, too.  Becky, you are next.  Mrs. James, will you
please take the paddle and seat yourself on the bench? Oh, let me make a
suggestion; if we move the bench closer to the front of the platform, the
audience will be able to observe the spanking better, or, at least, they will
have a better view of the effect it has on the child's bottom, if they wish.
 The children, especially, should see that; if they will move to the left
side of the stage, their view of this aspect will be better.  I think it is
important for them to know just what their own bottoms will feel like if they
behave in such a way as to find themselves across someone's knee on some
Sunday in the future.  Becky, your punishment is the same as Timothy's.
 Please raise your skirt and get over Mrs.  James' knee; since you are
fifteen, to respect your privacy she will pull down your panties only after
you are in position."

As might have been expected, Becky, although older than Timothy, was more
vocal than he from the first stoke.  Her high-pitched "OWWWWW!" echoed around
the square, followed by cry upon cry as the paddle did its work on her soon
pink, then rosy, and then cherry-red behind.  Mrs.  James spanked quicker
than Mrs.  Porter, but with no less force.  The 40 strokes rained down on
Becky's bottom in just over a minute, so that her response became one long
howl: "Ouch, Ouch, OUCH, OHH, OWW, STOP, PLEASE, OWWW, OHH, NOOOO!  PLEASE!
 OWWW!!" until she lapsed into steady sobbing.  The tears were evident on her
face as she rose before turning to display her flaming posteriors to the
crowd and then yanked up her drawers, rubbing her behind to try,
unsuccessfully, to reduce the sting there.

Lawrence seemed in a hurry to receive his punishment; he stepped forward
before bidden to do so, but Mr.  Clark held him back. "Lawrence," he said, "I
know you want to get this over with, but before you receive your spanking, I
do need to explain something to the crowd here.  Lawrence, it seems, is
responsible for the most vile and obscene phrases which were written on the
wall. I will not repeat them; they are well-known obscenities, all too common
today.  Moreover, Lawrence, by his own admission, is responsible for almost
half of all the writing which was done.  He is older than the others by a
year, sixteen, in fact, and may be considered the ringleader.  Consequently,
his punishment will be more severe.  Mr. Garnett will administer it.  He will
use a special paddle, made in the school carpentry shop for this purpose.  As
you can see, it is just a bit thicker, longer, and wider than the other
paddle, but made of light enough material so that it can be applied with
speed and with a snap.  It will sting much more, but it will not cause any
bruises.  The number of strokes will not be measured.  Lawrence, you will
simply be soundly spanked until, in Mr. Garnett's opinion, further spanking
would have no effect.  You may now bare your bottom for the spanking."

Lawrence was not as hasty to do that as he had seemed to be a moment before;
the prospect of what was about to happen to him had given him pause.  He
looked about, hopelessly, and then, realizing that there was no way out,
slowly lowered his jeans to his ankles.  Then, preserving what he could of
his dignity, he slowly lowered his jockey shorts, making no effort to hide
his nakedness, assuming an air of nonchalance and, perhaps, defiance as the
crown stared at his mature, well-developed masculinity.  He managed to
preserve that dignity as he lowered himself across the knees of Mr. Garnett,
the town postman.  Unfortunately for Lawrence, carrying mailbags for years
had given Mr. Garnett exceptionally strong arm and shoulder muscles, so that
the first SPLAT! which christened the new pine paddle echoed around the town
square and caused Lawrence, tight-lipped, to jerk his body in surprise.  The
next smack, and the next, had the same result.  But by the fifth stroke, the
paddle was landing on already-spanked skin, and Lawrence could no longer
preserve his air of resignation. "Oh, Ow, Owww!" he shouted.  "OWWW!  OH,
PLEASE, OUCH! STOP!  OUCHH! DON'T ..OWWW... I'M ...OW ..SORRY .... OH,
SHIT!!!"  At which point, Mr. Garnett began to apply the paddle with even
greater vigor, and Lawrence's buttocks began to take on a very bright red
tone. He knew that his indiscretion had cost him several extra minutes of
especially severe spanking, but it was too late now, and all he could do was
try to avoid any further outbursts which would earn him an even harder and
longer spanking than he was in the process of receiving.

The spanking went on a full four minutes.  When he arose, Lawrence was in
tears, his bottom ablaze, and the children in the crowd were shuffling their
feet in nervous awe.  Every one of them could picture himself or herself
across that lap, the paddle descending with loud smacks on their own bared
buttocks, and every one of them resolved never to be found in that position.

There were never again three spankings on a single Sunday.  There never
needed to be. 

 Spankings at school continued from time to time, generally once a week or
so.  On occasion, a group of youngsters would get in trouble together, as
youngsters do,  Once, a food fight in the school cafeteria broke out, and
most of the afternoon was taken up by a line of children, perhaps half the
children in the school, waiting outside room 103 to be admitted, quickly
identified, and sent on to the next room to have pants lowered and bottoms
spanked.  Extra parents had to be summoned that day in order that the
spankings were fairly given, for by the end of the afternoon, arms had tired
and palms had grown sore from contact with the dozens of red seats receiving
justice.  There were few dinner tables in the village that night which did
not have at least one child squirming a bit in his or her chair from that
afternoon's mass bottom-warming.

On Sundays, about once  every month, some child could be found, bare bottom,
howling, on the receiving end of a good, hard public spanking.  Children will
be children; some lessons are not easily learned.  Few boys and girls had to
lower their pants before the village more than once, and many never even had
to suffer that indignity even at school. 

Still, new children are born every year, and many must learn the hard way.
 Even today, if you were to visit the village on a Sunday, you might find a
crowd gathered to watch some hapless boy or girl receive a well- deserved but
sound public spanking  on the bare bottom.  It is not hard to recognize the
village.  It is neat and clean, and the children there are very well
mannered. Over the entrance to the village hangs a simple sign which explains
why this is the case.  It reads:

"Proverbs, XIII, 24"