My
students know. I still tell this story in my classroom when I discuss
discipline.
As
a kid, I was your typical hard-headed, mischievous boy. I was told that I had a
temper. One day, I had gotten into trouble, and my mother was about to spank me
with the only thing that would make me change my evil ways: an extension cord.
But
I had a plan; I would run!
I
ran with her in hot pursuit. She had big curlers in her hair and slippers on,
but that woman ran, too. I ran through the living room, out the back door,
around the apricot trees, and around the rose garden. Then I saw my friends—and
I figured I didn’t want them to see me get a whuppin, so I went back inside and
took my beating.
I
even remember what I said:
“Momma!
“OK
momma! OK momma! I won’t do it again!”
That
was in the ‘60s. That’s how my brother and I got punished when we acted a fool.
That
couldn’t happen today. Just ask Adrian Peterson, the All-Pro runningback of the
Minnesota Vikings. He allegedly spanked one of his sons with a switch from a
tree—and now he is charged with a crime, putting his illustrious career in
jeopardy.
However, I understand. Peterson is from the South, and that’s how he
was punished. That’s how a lot of my black friends were punished.
By the way, my mom and father
are from Alabama; that’s as country-southern as you can get.
Today, it’s funny to me. I would
hear young parents talking about how they have punished their children with a
timeout, a banishment to their rooms, or a removal of a toy—and I’d laugh.
That’s
why many kids are in trouble today. They would get into trouble—and laugh at
their parents’ form of disciple.
You’ve
heard them.
“I
don’t care. Call my momma!
“So!”
“Whatever!”
That
kind of defiance didn’t happen prior to the ‘70s.
You
could even see it in popular African-American TV shows. Remember Good Times
with Thelma and JJ? If so, I’m sure you remember their father—James. It didn’t
take a lot of inferring to know that James swung a mean belt.
As
a dad—I did too.
Oh,
did I mention that I’m a Baptist. And I
was taught through the church that if you “spared the rod—you spoil the child.”
Back in the day, we called
it, “Putting the fear of God” in our children. Yup, for a long time, I was
scared of my parents.
Today, I see the results. My
brother and I are home owners, and we are the only people in our immediate
family with a master’s degree hanging on the wall.
As for the welts I received
from my parents, it was done so that society wouldn’t have to lock me up. It
was done because they loved me.
That’s why I have never been
incarcerated. When I was bad, my parents took care of it so that society wouldn’t
have to.
And today—my stories of
spankings are great teachable moments.
