Discipline

Main Street, Cuba, Il.

Allow me to share a story with you. You see, 2014 is the 40th year anniversary of Cuba High School’s class of 1974. My class. You’ve all heard the tiresome cliche, “Times flies.” Well, it does. No kidding! While going through scanned photos of my High School year books, I was transported back in time . . .

“You know how this goes,” said my sixth grade teacher. “Face the chalk board, feet spread apart, bend over, hands on the desk - sssmaaack as the paddle hit its mark on my hind-side. 

Honestly, I don’t even remember what this paddling was for. But I do remember the sting, and the embarrassment I felt standing in front of the class. No, I wasn’t the only one. Like all schools we had our share of misfits. In our small, rural farming community of west central Illinois I’m happy to report there was no teen violence, no shootings, and no serious vandalisms. Well, ok, we did tend to torment the local policeman, who we dubbed Barney Fife. A group of us would hide behind Mr. Welch’s garden fence on Main Street and throw leftover rotted tomatoes as “Barney” drove by. Anyway . . . 

During those formative grade school years, 1965-1967, the sting of Mr. Tarter’s paddle was a regular occurrence. The entire grade school feared this disciplinarian. His paddle was prominently displayed for all to see. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember any girls getting the paddle. Oh well, I’m sure we deserved it. We were told repeatedly:

“No running in the halls.”

“Stop shooting spit-wads at each other.”

“Do not throw snowballs at the girls.”

“No sliding on the ice,” and many other boneheaded activities that only the boys always got into. Yes, we can laugh about this now but back then this was serious stuff. The principle always sent a note home with the student who received discipline. I remember many classmates in tears, more afraid of the note and what their parents would do than the paddling itself.

We received paddling because we were rebellious. In our school discipline was never administered out of anger or loss of control. I recently read that a 1995 government report from Sweden found that child abuse and teen violence actually increased dramatically after spanking was outlawed in that country.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I’ve been working on a Powerpoint presentation for my graduating class’s 40th year reunion. It’s more of a tribute really. My High School class of 1974 graduated with a whopping 60 students. Ten percent of those classmates have now passed on. Two just this past August.

Have you ever taken time to really examine those photos from the past? Or looked at what your community involvement was during those developmental years? After reviewing the documented facts, I’ve noticed that my recall of activities and events may be a little blurry. However, from the yearbook photos I’m able to quickly identify all of my classmates. Thankfully, my memory is still somewhat intact. Then I go to our class’s FaceBook forum and I’m startled, Who are these people?

You know you’re getting older when you compare your high school photo to what you see in the mirror every morning and wonder, Who is that? Scary.

Well, I need to quit rambling and get back to that PowerPoint presentation I promised - discipline. I’m sure Mr. Tarter won’t be there to paddle me if I don’t follow instructions or complete my assigned task. However, the discipline he established, in me, drives me to finish what I begin, with pride.