Even though I agree with much of this teacher's philosophy, I'm not with her on the spanking. I don't care how many kids she had taught, she suffers from the same problem we all do: you never know whether some tough stand you take is going to backfire in ways you didn't expect.

I once watched a teacher full-on slap a kid right across the face; I mean she pulled her arm right right out to the side and let him have it. Of course he started crying and was humiliated, but I can still remember the incident clearly to this day. What I learned was this: she had completely lost control of herself and would get away with it because no one dared to challenge teachers back in those days. I lost a lot of respect for her that day because she was being a bully rather than a teacher. I have also seen teachers start screaming at kids like nuts.

You know, there are people who think you need to hit a kid with the business end of a belt to make your point. You want to let a teacher do that to your kid?

I'm all for discipline and believe that you are not your kid's friend, but I can guarantee this: if spanking is all you have in your discipline back of tricks, you'll become ineffective as the kids get bigger and it no longer works. Some kids respond well to occasional spankings and some kids learn to hate. They keep it silent for a long time and then learn to take it out on others.

Parents could make teachers' jobs a lot easier by preparing their kids more effectively at home, but not all teachers are good teachers or good mentors. There's no one perfect answer. I learned a lot of positive things from school, but I also learned a lot of negatives things as well.