As the 2011-12 school year draws to a close for public students in Texas, area school boards should resolve to make it the last one that sees paddling in their districts. Educators in 31 other states can run schools quite effectively without this outmoded practice, and there's no reason that Texas can't join them - either all at once thanks to a visionary Legislature or one district at a time.

Paddling doesn't teach a child anything except how to use force to get your way. That's the exact wrong message to send to our students, who should be encouraged to control their emotions and use their brains to get past challenges. Worst of all is the bizarre twist of paddling students not just for misbehavior but for bad grades. What if a student has a learning disability or simply can't grasp a difficult subject? Paddling in public schools is simply wrong. It needs to end now, not later.