How are time-outs working for you?

When I read Ken Potts' column in the Neighbor section in the Jan. 31 edition of the Herald, one question came to mind; What color is the sky on his planet?

Seriously? When I grew up, there were no mass school shootings by maladjusted students. Police officers were not summoned to schools to deal with unruly students. Children actually respected authority. The worst thing that happened was a fist fight and the loser didn't go home and return with a gun. We behaved because we knew if we didn't, there could be a spanking in our future, not a beating, just a spanking. It was something to be avoided. It must have worked, because we didn't need metal detectors or armed guards at the schools.

Compare that to what is happening today. Just pick up a newspaper or watch the news on TV. Either a kid is shooting up a school, or being shot by police. Gangs rule neighborhoods. Teachers and other authorities are not being respected by children. Yet "intellectuals" at places like the University of New Hampshire would have you believe that spanked children are more likely to disobey, lie, bully and destroy.

Yet, one can easily see that the opposite is true. How are those time-outs working for you?

Terry Tallian

Wood Dale