I’ve heard a lot of discussion about corporal punishment, and there are people “fer it and agin it.” Most kids fall within the latter group. In fact, I was a staunch advocate of no punishment – but my folks took the opposing view.
I behaved in school for the most part, because my mother had given all my teachers explicit instructions to contact her if they ever had to paddle me. I know for a fact that had she ever received a call, things would not have turned out well for me that day. Mother as serious about behaving properly.
I did get a paddling in the six grade. Ms. Odom was a great teacher, loved all us kids and told us as much frequently. But she ran a tight ship.
One day in early May, the days were warm and we were all afflicted with spring fever. Ms. Odom had to go to the office for a few minutes and left my classmate Terry in charge. Terry was one of my buddies and we enjoyed tormenting each other. He was sitting at Ms. Odom’s desk trying to keep the peace when I decided to sling a blackboard eraser at him…SCWATTTT! It hit the blackboard only inches from his head. He protested and told me that I was going to get him into trouble, which I thought was hilarious…so I slung another one…,and another.
Unknown to me, Ms. Ocom’s visit to the office was a short one. She walked in just as I let one fly. “Ricky Watson, I need for you to join me in the hall.” I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. Rarely did good things happen in the hall. This trip was no different. Apparently, she didn’t find my eraser flinging nearly as amusing as I did. While Ms. Odom was getting on up in years, apparently old age hadn’t set in yet. I got the distrinct whiff of burning cotton about the third time she hit me with that paddle. I never misbehanved in her class again.
I rocked along without incident until the ninth grade at Dora High. We were in the gym, and again it was springtime (can you see a pattern here?). I was minding my own business when all of a sudden, SPLAT! I caught a piece of window putty the size of a golf ball upside the head. It put a red mark on my face the size of a silver dollar.
It was my duty to get revenge, so I raced up the bleachers, gouged a handful of putty from those big gym windows and quickly found my target. I had a good arm, so I let that putty fly. An issue developed and I saw it unfolding in ultra-slow motion.
Coach Reid, who had been out on the football field, walked into the gym as the ball of putty smacked the wall not 18 inches from his head. There must have been 40 kids in that gym, but he identified the guilty parties instantly. The world would be a much safer place if military could build a device capable of finding bad guys as quickly.
In the blink of an eye, we were sitting outside the principal’s office. My life flashed before my eyes. The others were called in first, one at a time, as Mr. Gant asked them what happened. Without fail, they all placed the blame squarely on someone else – and without fail they all got three licks from a paddle that looked like it was the size of Rhode Island. It sounded like gun shots when the wood found its target. I was next, and he regarded my thoughtfully.
“You’ve never been sent to my office before, have you?” I told him I had not. He asked me what I was thinking that caused me to become involved in the putty incident. I told him it was pretty clear that I was NOT thinking. He asked me who was to blame. I knew my next few words were sure to bring out the “board of education.” But I managed to say, “I guess that would be me.” He stood up and I prepared myself for more burning cotton. But he put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye and said, “Ricky, I’m going to give you another chance. It’s not easy to take responsibility for what you do.”
He said sometimes you make mistakes, but when you make a mistake do your best to make it right. I’ve never forgotten those words.
It would have been easy (and justified) for him to have worn out my behind and sent me on my way, but instead he had me spend my study halls replacing the putty in the gym windows. He also left me with the words that I have carried with me all my life – he never missed a chance to teach. So if you ask me today about my views on corporal punishment, all I can say is that the “board of education” had a positive impact on my life.
Editor’s note: This column is from Rick Watson’s first book, “Remembering Big: Ponderings & Reflections of a Sloss Holler Scholar.”
