An adult should never threaten a child with a baseball bat!

Sorry if I am misreading this, but a few things here make me wonder.

We’ve been having a number of “trick questions” here recently. These are questions that purport to be about a simple topic, but on a closer reading there is a “ringer”, a small fact slipped in on the side that changes the whole playing field.

When someone here answers the trick question carefully and with due concern for all the possibilities and the dangers of long-distance diagnosis, the topic disappears into a black hole and is never seen again.

This pattern is very different from the real questions, which tend to start a long back and forth discussion exploring the situation and the possibilities.

The present question somehow seems too neat, too pat, as if we’re being set up for something.

I’m wondering why these “trick questions” — is it a troll setting people up to make mistakes so he can browbeat them, is it a new style of troll trying to find an avenue to discredit people professionally or to start a lawsuit, or what?

I notice that nobody else here jumped in to answer this either; I let it sit overnight to see how others felt. Perhaps others feel something is missing here too.

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Anyhow if you are real, sorry for being suspicious.

*IF* this message is just the facts and all the facts, there is no question; in the situation as presented, you simply make a legal complaint through authorities. First to whoever employs the coach, then their superintendent, then the local police, and/or child protection agency, then if no action the state child protection agency. Such a complaint needs to be made in writing, dated, with you keeping a copy, and with the name of your lawyer if you have one.

One of the thing that raises eyebrows about this whole story is the “get the paddle” — I don’t know if there is anywhere in North America any more where public schools keep a paddle for use on students. And other students would not be familiar with paddling either.

If there are vital facts missing — oh, for example, this is a private religious school where the authorities believe in corporal punishment and you have signed a contract agreeing to that; or, for example, if this is a training program for kids who have been in trouble and they are trying a “scared straight” approach — well, that changes the picture and it would be a question of whether this is the right place for your son.

There is also the possibility that this is true and the coach is just a bit behind the learning curve and has a limited sense of humour; it is possible that he knows that paddling is no longer done but that he still thinks it is something to joke about, and he thought it was all a big practical joke. Of course even if somehow this is all true, he would *claim* it was a joke.

Paddling is still allowed in Texas and kids get paddled all the time. It’s a district by district thing. Some districts say NO to any paddling. Some say they will paddle IF the parents sign an approval and still others will paddle no matter what the parents think.

Consequently, this post does not seem like a joke to me. This issue comes up often in our state.

This coach may have used a paddle that wasn’t approved and that could put him in trouble. OR this could be a non-paddling school district then it would put him in trouble.

Regardless, the coach sounds like a typical terrorizing boys’ coach/PE teacher who likes to do humiliating things to show who’s boss. Maybe he’s a former military guy. Even if this is a paddling school, the police need to be called.

Victoria, I am with you on this. I haven’t read the board in a few days, obviously, and was shocked to read that post. With all due respect to the parent, IF this story is true, which it is my thinking it cannot be, if anything remotely like that happened to my child, I wouldn’t be posting on a message board asking what to do. Would you? You know me, I would be storming the principal’s office. Without an appointment.

It is my understanding that “paddling” is illegal in the USA. All of the USA.

Really, I promise you. Paddling is alive and well in some school districts in Texas.

Yes, Guest, I can see that you are indeed correct. I did a Google search after I posted earlier, and it appears, from what I read, that corporal punishment is still allowed in 21 states.

It would seem that we as a country are not as civilized as we would like to believe, yes?

How very frightening.

Here’s a list of states and whether it is legal or not.

http://familyeducation.com/article/0%2C1120%2C1-3980%2C00.html

I didn’t say that I thought the post was a joke — I have strong suspicions that it may be a setup, but that is a different thing entirely.

If the post is real as written, then I did suggest that the coach may think or claim that his actions are a joke, quite a different issue.

Even in a place where corporal punishment is permitted, there are things in this story that raise an eyebrow. If the original poster is around, some details on where and on community standards would clarify the question.

Victoria,

I don’t perceive this issue to be a joke at all, I know you don’t either, and I know what you mean about the possibility of the post being a set-up. I too would like to hear from the original poster.

I was stunned at what I read, when I actually took the time to find out that corporal punishment is still legal, in 22 states in the USA. I honestly thought it was banned long ago.

I guess what bugs me about this post is the immediate suspicion of it. I don’t think it’s unheard of for a parent to be told something shocking from their child and for the parent to jump on the Internet and read about the issue or post on a message board you’ve never been to or chat with someone about it, just to process the information, get over the shock, weigh the options as to what to do, or whatever, and then never return. i don’t think that’s unheard of.

And if it’s a fake post, who cares? Don’t respond.

Some of us have had had bizarre things happen to our children and then posted about it only to get responses like, “You must be kidding. This must be a joke. Are you a teenager looking to stir up trouble.” It’s irritating! Just because this hasn’t happened in your life or you’ve never heard of such a thing in your world doesn’t mean it’s never happened to anyone else. I know humans tend to be very ego-centric, so I try to be forgiving about this, but it’s happened to me on several message bords over several issues.

Guest — no, not trying to deny the possibility of weird happenings, quite the contrary. Sorry to have upset you. Believe me, if I told even half of my life history people would say I have to be making it up.
What raises my eyebrows in the post is exactly the opposite of what you have seen — the post appears just too neat, too pat. Most of the posts from distraught parents and students sound distraught.
Also, there have been several posts around here recently that have had an odd flavour to them.
repeat, I’m more than willing to talk to the original poster if she ever comes back.

Victoria raises an excellent point here, and should not have to apologize for raising it. Why have we not heard a single word from the original “guest” poster, who called herself Sharon? After posting a horrific tale such as hers regarding her son, and asking for help and advice, and then we never hear another word from her? That is very strange. Those who post and/or read here regularly are absolutely right to be suspicious.

Ignoring attempts at manipulating peoples’ emotions is a bad idea.

Look where it’s gotten us in world politics.