Sabby Ann

I’ve always been a bit behind on the tech scene…

In general, I have no interested in staying ‘on top’ of new technology; I just don’t care. And besides, that’s why I’m married to a geek. If there’s anything particularly cool, Eric can (and does) fill me in. But my idea of cool rarely involves electronics, websites, etc.

Hulu is a website that provides free TV shows and movies, legally. Apparently Hulu has been around for awhile… But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’d never heard of it. That is, until today, when it was discussed on a financial blog that I read.

They have a decent selection of TV programs, both new and old. They have some of my recent fav’s, like: Eureka, Simpsons, Family Guy, & House. They also have a lot of the shows I used to love as a kid: Doogie Howser, ALF, & Bewitched. I haven’t spent much time looking through their movie selection, but Hulu appears to have a fair number of full-length movies and of movie clips.

From reading online reviews, it’s clear that there are still some significant shortcomings, but I think I’m going to check it out for myself… I miss the good ‘ole days with Doogie Howser & ALF!

Recently, CNN posted an article about Spanking in Schools.  It indicated that corporal punishment (in schools) is still legal in 21 states, and is still frequently used in 13 states (Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida)!  Michigan is one of the many that have banned the practice.   

Interestingly enough, the article said that black students receive disproportionately more paddling/spanking (40% more) than their peers, and that “special education” students were also more likely to receive corporal punishment. 

I’ve heard countless stories about growing up in the “old days”, when teachers (or nuns!) could hit students with rulers, paddles, etc…. But I didn’t realize that it was still legal and practiced in so many states. In today’s society, we often hear about parents who spank their children in public, only to be reported to and investigated by Child Protective Services, for possible child abuse.

Personally, I’m conflicted on the subject of corporal punishment. I think spanking (young) children is a quick & effective way to temporarily stop errant behavior. I don’t think it necessarily teaches a lesson, but I also don’t think it imparts the message to children that violence is acceptable. We don’t confuse toddlers by spanking them but telling them not to hit others, simply because they don’t grasp the hypocrisy. 

Yet I think there are far better ways of punishing children, of teaching lessons. Poor choices usually have consequences, and those consequences should be logical and realistic. Not picking up toys = spanking. That doesn’t make sense. Not picking up toys should result in those toys being taken away, because they weren’t taken care of. 

But spanking is definitely easier. As a parent, you don’t have to think what an action’s natural consequence would be, and you don’t have to enforce the consequence. You just give a couple of spankings, wait a minute or two for the crying to end, give a hug and a brief talk, and it’s done. And the mere threat of a spanking is usually enough to coerce compliance, whereas reminding a child that he/she is making a bad decision that will a consequence just seems weak. 

I wonder what Eric & I will do, in a few years.