[skywhopper]

As an adult male with ADHD that went undiagnosed until I was in my late 20s, who was one of the youngest in his class, who faced the potential of "corporal punishment" (spanking on the rear-end with a wooden paddle was the threat) both at school and at home (it was only ever administered to me at home by my parents), and who now has a daughter who has just passed through the elementary years at a school that does not practice any physical punishment, and who has never practiced any sort of physical punishment on my daughter, I strongly disagree.

The biggest change I've seen in the style of schooling between my elementary years and today is not the administration of corporal punishment. Yes, it was an option when I was a child, but it was rarely administered. Less than half a dozen times a year across six grades and about 1000 children, perhaps, is my rough guesstimate.

Instead, the biggest change I see is the near total removal of recess as a part of the day. When I was in elementary school, we had two 15-minute recesses, one 25-minute recess, and an additional 10-15 minute recess period after lunch. My daughter, throughout her elementary school years, was given a single 15 minute recess, and this was often taken away from the entire class as a collective punishment. To me, it's no wonder the kids can't sit still or pay attention. Children that age need to run and play without structure and with as few rules as possible. That physical energy has to go somewhere. And it too often goes to acting up and inability to pay attention in class.