Do You Believe That Teachers, Principals, etc. Have The Right To Spank/Paddle?

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I grew up in a time when spanking was the norm, both at home and at school and thought nothing of it. My own parents spanked me from time to time, even though they were more likely to use other means of discipline such as simply lecturing me or denying a privilege. At school, the most used forms of discipline did include spankings, but they also included other things such as lectures, being put out of class to stand in the hall, having to miss recess. One of the most interesting and creative forms of discipline happened to a classmate when we were both in fifth grade. It was in the middle of class when a low-flying plane went over. That was just too much for Paul who jumped up out of his seat and ran to the window hollering, "Hey! Look at that plane!" He stood at the window pointing at the plane, when our teacher followed him there and said, "All right, Paul! You're just going to stand there like that all through recess!" When the bell announced recess, Mrs. Farthing reminded Paul to take his place at the window, so Paul went over and stood by the window. "No!" Mrs. Farthing told him. "Not like that--like THIS!" She positioned his body so that his arm was extended, his finger was pointed, his head was slightly tilted back as if looking for a plane, and one foot was slightly raised from the floor. And there he stood for the entire fifteen minutes! Today, he's the county commissioner, so this didn't damage him any--but I doubt if he jumps up out of his seat at official meetings to do any plane-spotting. LOL As I said before, spanking/paddling was an option for discipline at school at that time, and my end and the business end of a paddle did have at least one annual meeting through fifth grade, as I was one of those kids with a mind of her own. Sixth grade was the first year I went all the way through school without getting paddled. The next time I was threatened with a paddle was when I was a freshman in high school and was crushing on this teacher. For some reason, it really bothered my phys ed teacher that I was so sweet on this guy (No, we weren't in competition. She was happily-married, and, even if she weren't, I was no competition for her, because this teacher wanted absolutely nothing to do with me romantically.). But, one time, he came into the gym, and I went into this trance. One of my friends told me that I reminded her of the girl (Pamela Dare) who was crushing on Sir (in To Sir With Love). Class hadn't started yet, so this also had nothing to do with my being inattentive when the my phys ed teacher was addressing the class. It all had to do with my reaction to the teacher. Her reaction? She showed me a school paddle and told me that she was going to use it on me if I didn't quit staring at the teacher. Maybe, she was just kidding me--but, somehow, I don't think so, because she didn't have a just kidding kind of look on her face. I put on a poker face and looked away from the teacher--and I DO have the feeling that, had I slipped up, she would have had me to bend over and would have hit me two or three times, and she would have hit me HARD! Now, I believe in disciplining kids, but, these days, I don't believe that hitting them should be one of the options. Even so--as long as there wasn't an actual beating going on--I believe that parents should be allowed to spank their kids and that this right should also extend to any sort of private caretaker to whom the parents give the right. But, thinking back on my experience with my phys ed teacher, I've drawn the line when it comes to corporal punishment being used at school. It angers me to think that, at that time, this teacher had the right to hit me for owning my feelings. I wasn't hurting other kids, and I wasn't vandalizing the school. I was merely giving the object of my crush a dreamy-eyed look--and I was in danger of being hit for THAT! I, for one, say that there should be a zero-tolerance zone for hitting (as well as other types of hurtful physical discipline such as pinching, tickling, hair-pulling, etc.) in ALL public schools. We need to teach our young people that hurting another person (other than in self-defense--including in defense of another person as well--or those injuries that are part of the job description in games such as football) isn't the way to solve problems. How can we possibly do this when the board of education is still an option when it comes to discipline, and school authority figures have the right to use it? All that teaches is that it IS okay to solve problems physically if you're more powerful than the other person. And, in the case of what happened to me as a freshman, it says that you could be hit for wearing your heart on your sleeve. Not right! Doesn't even come CLOSE to being right! Don't even get me started on the implications of THAT mindset! What's your take on this?