Dear Reader: I would like to direct your attention to a matter which is generally excluded from polite conversation: the sexual implications of corporal punishment. I assume you are aware that teachers employed in the following states are free to corporally punish students: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. The act typically involves requiring a student to bend forward submissively while the teacher batters the student’s buttocks with a wooden instrument. In my opinion, this policy fosters an environment that promotes and shields sadistic treatment of children, specifically sexual sadism. Educators should be setting a higher standard. It should be noted that evidence-based support for corporal punishment is non-existent, and tradition-based support for it is rapidly disappearing. Its only known value is that it forces victims to temporarily submit to the will of punishers. Furthermore, there is a super-abundance of scholarly materials condemning the practice and acknowledging its sexual implications. That information is readily available to anyone who is interested. Sincerely, Jordan Riak, Exec. Dir. Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE) P.O. Box 1033, Alamo, CA 94507 Phone: (925) 831-1661