School days, golden rule days.

In the early 70's, I went to kindergarten in rural Florida. I remember one fine spring day waiting to board the bus to go home. A small dog was running around and all the kids were taking turns petting it. When one of the buses pulled forward the dog darted under the wheel and was run over. Yelping loudly, the dog flopped about, a piece of bone sticking out of its leg. The principle came out, took one look and told the teachers to take us around to the other side of the school. As we were walking, I looked back and the principle had come back with his pistol. One loud BOOM later we back, boarded our buses and went home.

I wonder what would happen if that type of action was taken today?

1) PETA would protest and call for the priciples firing.
2) CNN et. al. would provide 24 coverage entitled "Our Schools Under Fire"
3) Parents would pull their kids from the school.
4) Grief counselors would be called in to help us with our destroyed emotional state.
5) A class action lawsuit would be filed for a 100 million dollars to help these emotionally destroyed kids cope.
6)The principle would be fired.

But when I think back I realize that no one was emotional destroyed by this event. The principle was simply putting a suffering animal out of its misery. I also think this: no one probably messed with this principle.

I wonder if kids were tougher then. Back then if you got out of line you got paddled and you feared your teacher, especially the principle. To be sent to the priciple was a fate worse then death. Now parents have give "permission" for their kids to be paddled. And, of course, the kids who act the worse are never to be paddled. I wonder if we've not gone to far the other way. When there was wholesale paddling, test scores were better, schools were safer and teachers were more respected. I do know this, when I was growing up their were no school shootings. Maybe that's because my principle had a pistol in his drawer.