Corpun file 26746 at www.corpun.com
Marshall Independent, Minnesota, 4 September 2018
Tracy residents pay tribute to Marben
By Jenny Kirk
Reporter
(extracts)
Ron McDaniel and Jolynn Johns engage in conversation with others about the late Art Marben's "board of education" paddle during a tribute for the iconic, longtime administrator at Tracy Area High School on Monday morning. Hundreds gathered to pay their respects for the man who many call "a legend."
TRACY -- To those who knew him, the late Art Marben was one-of-a-kind.
At a life remembrance celebration for Marben on Monday morning at Tracy Area High School, people described him as a phenomenal ballplayer, decorated Marine and remarkable teacher, coach and administrator. Even more importantly, they said he led by example and was a caring and invested people person.
"He ruled the school," speaker Cal Ludeman said. "He was the headmaster, the principal. Everybody respected him -- either out of fear or simple respect -- and he earned all of it. He was very self-disciplined. He showed up every day and he rewarded you with either a smile or a frown. And you cared about how Art Marben thought about you as a student. I think the teachers would say the same for them."
Ludeman said Marben, who was an educator at Tracy School for more than 30 years, stressed teamwork. Marben died in July at the age of 95.
"He was just that kind of leader," Ludeman said. "You will find some students who, unbeknownst to a lot of other people, owe some of their lifelong success to that kind of nudge in direction that Art Marben would've given them. He was one-of-a-kind."
Tracy Area Elementary School teacher Gale Otto knew Marben through coaching.
"He was one of the guys who hired me -- he and Vernon Grinde and Leo Sebastian," Otto said. "Those were three great people. They were pillars in the school and community."
[...]
Former student Ron McDaniel said some students learned the hard way back then, when corporal punishment was not only acceptable but also expected.
"The board of education was applied to the seat of knowledge," McDaniel said in reference to the wooden paddle he said Marben used to straighten out behavior. "That's what he'd say about using it."
Speaker Gary Sandbo, a 1964 graduate, joked that Marben's stellar baseball career prepared him for dealing with mischievous students.
"He was quite the disciplinarian," Sandbo said. "When you got sent to his office, you'd instantly regret whatever it was that you did. He'd say, 'OK, Gary. Grab your ankles.' Then he'd deliver the 'board of education.' And he was a very good hitter."
Longtime guidance counselor Chris Kamrud said he thought he knew the meaning of tough love, but that Marben demonstrated it better than anyone.
"Art put tough love into practice," Kamrud said. "He cared deeply about students. He cared so much that he would make sure to interrupt destructive behaviors that he saw. And I think you're all familiar with the fact that Art had to use his famous paddle to deter some of those destructive behaviors."
After quite a few snickers from the crowd, Kamrud said the great thing about Marben was that he never held a grudge.
"He could paddle somebody at 9 in the morning and by noon at lunch, he'd be talking to that student about the fish biting at Lake Shetek or about the game that evening," Kamrud said.
[...]
Copyright © Marshall Independent |Marshall, MN 56258 |Ogden Newspapers
Corpun file 26747 at www.corpun.com
Alabama Today, 13 September 2018
Yes, corporal punishment is still legal in most Alabama schools
[Photo Credit: Stateimpact Florida | Sarah Gonzalez]
A school in neighboring Georgia has gained the national spotlight after announcing it is bringing back a controversial form of corporal punishment for students who misbehave: paddling.
"There was a time when corporal punishment was kind of the norm in school and you didn't have the problems you have (now)," said the superintendent at the Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics in Hephzibah where paddling has just been given the green-light once more, Jody Boulineau.
What many Alabamians may not know is that paddling is legal in their state too.
In 1995, the state Legislature passed a law -- found in Section 16-1-24.1 of the Alabama Code that permits the use of corporal punishment in public schools, but directs local school boards to adopt their own codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures. The statute, however, is pretty vague but it does prohibit any "excessive force or cruel and unusual punishment."
(g) Except in the case of excessive force or cruel and unusual punishment, no certified or non-certified employee of the State Board of Education or any local board of education shall be civilly liable for any action carried out in conformity with state law and system or school rules regarding the control, discipline, suspension, and expulsion of students.
According to the most recent available data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in Sept. 2016, 107 out of 133 school districts in Alabama exercised physical force on its students during the 2013-2014 school year. That translated to nearly 19,000 Alabama students being paddled that year.
Examples of corporal punishment policies in Alabama
Alexander City Schools: shall consist of no more than three (3) licks administered to the buttocks with a smooth surface paddle free of holes and/or cracks.
Autagua County School System: shall not be administered in the presence of other students and shall not include more than three (3) licks to the buttocks. Refusal to be paddled can result in suspension or expulsion.
Dothan City Schools: The principal of a school is vested by the Code of Alabama with the authority to administer corporal punishment in conformance with the policy of the Dothan City Board of Education.
But just because it's still allowed doesn't mean everyone is still on board with it. Mobile County Public Schools, Mountain Brook Schools, and Talladega City Schools are among a few school systems who have outright banned the practice in their districts.
Further, following the release of statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, the Alabama Association of School Boards voted to change the group's position from "discouraging" paddling of students to "prohibiting" the act in in December 2016. Nevertheless, the vote doesn't have any teeth to it -- it was merely an official position statement that is not legally enforceable, and the issue has not been a legislative priority of the state legislature.
Corpun file 26724 at www.corpun.com
wrdw.com (WRDW-TV), Augusta, Georgia, 19 September 2018
Parents express mixed views on new paddling policy at local school
By Lia Fernandez
HEPHZIBAH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- News 12 reported on an exclusive story about one charter school giving parents the option for using paddling as a corporal punishment in class. Since then, news outlets like the National Geographic, BBC and other national and international news tellers have shared that story.
Parents at GSIC are speaking out about the consent forms sent home earlier this month. Lacie Dickerson says her daughter, Lydia, shocked her with the paper.
"Lydia said, 'mom I have a paper I need you to sign', I said 'well what is it?' And she said it's a 'can they spank me or not form'," Dickerson laughed.
She has two kids at GSIC. Parents got a consent form asking to use corporal punishment on their kids this school year.
"It's 2018 and they are sending that home. It's ridiculous," parent Justin Cohen fumed. "The whole policy is ridiculous."
It's a policy that spells out the punishment with a large, wooden paddle. If signed, an administrator could spank them behind closed doors, but no more than three times.
But these two parents have two very different opinions. Cohen's son is a first-grader at the charter school.
Lia Fernandez: "When your son handed you this consent form, what were you thinking?" Justin Cohen: "For GSIC to go ahead and [say] 'we want to paddle your child because we think it's a good idea ... no."
Cohen says it's not just about checking off yes or no. He says it's almost like a punishment if he marks no, because in that case it means upwards of five days of suspension for his child.
"It's thinly veiled coercion. If you don't sign it, if you don't let us paddle your child, we're going to suspend them for 5 days."
Dickerson has a different point of view when it comes to Lydia.
"It doesn't bother me. I'm used to it because we came out of Jefferson County, and when they were in elementary school they were paddling there," Dickerson explained to News 12 Wednesday.
Jefferson and Burke Counties are both still enforcing corporal punishment. Dickerson's child went to a school there before GSIC.
"When they were younger I always checked 'yes' when they were in Wrens, but they should call me first."
Lacie says now that her kids are older, in 8th and 9th grade, she says they're too old to be spanked. Because of that, this time she checked "no".
The principal says they almost have all the consent forms back. Out of the 650 students they have, she says a little over one-third of them show parents saying "yes" to paddling. But the majority of those parents are saying no.
Corpun file 26749 at www.corpun.com
13wmaz.com (WMAZ-TV), Macon, Georgia, 25 September 2018
Laurens County School District sees decline in paddling cases
The school district says the sharp decline is due to the PBIS system
By Wanya Reese
A Georgia school district in Hephzibah made national news this month by deciding to use paddling to discipline students, but paddling isn't new for many Central Georgia school districts like Laurens County.
The numbers of paddling cases in Laurens County have been cut nearly in half and the district says the reason is the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) program.
Students at West Laurens High School took some time Tuesday morning to learn how to get along with one another better.
Dana Hall with Laurens County Schools says PBIS is the biggest reason staff isn't using corporal punishment as much as in the past.
"That's about teaching students the expectations of the school and not just assuming that they come to school already knowing it," Hall said.
Hall says county staff re-teaches expectations instead of punishing kids. Ashlee Vickers' kids went to West Laurens and she still volunteers there. She says she is happy paddling cases are falling.
"The school board is taking the initiative to make the change within the school system here. It's going to make a difference with these kids as opposed to a different school system that is not making the opportunity to make the change," Vickers said.
West Laurens High had 88 paddling cases in 2016, according to the Georgia Department of Education. Last year, there were just 18.
Hall says they are taking new approaches to discipline, like sending students into in-school suspension, instead of corporal punishment. Hall added the dip in numbers also reflects the district taking different approaches in finding solutions.
"Having a system in place to involve those parents to help support correcting behaviors, again reteaching those expectations," Hall said.
Now there are no plans to get rid of paddling, but Hall says they hope PBIS will allow the paddling cases to continue falling.
According to the Georgia state Department of Education, Laurens County had 975 cases of paddling in the 2016 school year. In 2017, that number was nearly halved with 557 cases.
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