Corporal Punishment? Really?

Robert Rummel-Hudson, author of "Schuyler's Monster Blog", brought something to my attention that I thought was tucked safely into the past of our, erm, enlightened society: schools are still spanking, paddling, whacking, beating our kids.

Excuse me?

He says that the numbers have gone down, and, great, plenty of counties are outlawing corporal punishment. But where have I been? I thought it was ALREADY illegal, hands down, for years and years. To top things off, kids in special education are far more likely to receive bodily harm at the hands of their teachers. Robert, whose daughter has an extremely rare neurological condition called Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria, had this to say:

Even if you're one of the people who think that hitting a child is a good way to discipline and to educate, or perhaps especially if you believe that, I'd like you to stop for just a moment and think about that. I'd like for you to close your eyes and imagine how that scene might unfold.

Meanwhile, what's the topic of the most vocal outcry from disability advocates of late? The use of the word "retard" in a movie.

And I thought I would just quote that here, because he really hit that nail on the head.