school. It was normal to get spanked or caned by your teacher or principal.

But today, throughout the US and in Bermuda the new generation of children are fighting back and younger parents are either agreeing to the punishment or chastising officials for "laying a hand'' on their child.

Recently, Dale Butler was in the news for hand-strapping three students during a school assembly -- after they were found to be part of a group selling stolen goods.

He was criticised by some and cheered by others who felt what he did was quite necessary `especially with the way children are today'.

The flip side of all this is that teachers are having to take a stand with students who `go off' when faced with any form of discipline whether it be physical or a reprimand.

Last year Sandys Middle School principal Melvin Bassett was punched by a student because he did not allow him to march with the graduating class because his locks were not wrapped up.

At the Spice Valley Middle School, former Barbadian teacher Victor Coggin was viciously assaulted by students after refusing to allow a suspended student on school property.

It seems many principals feel that the time has clearly come for the Department of Education to step up and set some clear and universal codes of conduct.

The Royal Gazette spoke with a few people involved in the education system -- principals, a Bermuda Union of Teachers representative and Coalition for the Protection of Children chairman Sheelagh Cooper to find out what really is the answer to the discipline issue.

Spice Valley Middle School principal Melvin Bassett said he feels Bermuda's young people are confused because discipline and the methods of discipline have varied from school to school and also from home to home.

"It has become such a community issue -- recently heightened by the Dale Butler situation. The kids are confused because the community is so diverse on its opinions on discipline,'' Mr. Bassett said.

He added: "What one group thinks is good, another group thinks is not good and you know who slips right through the middle -- it's the children.

"You have Sheelagh Cooper on one extreme and Dale Butler on the other which shows confusion. It is an issue of children watching these debates and becoming confused about the accepted and unaccepted ways of discipline.'' Mr. Bassett said it's not the strategies used -- it's the fact that there are several opinions on the issue and it's not only here in Bermuda but in other communities around the world.

"This debate that seems to be always on the minds of parents, social workers and teachers is the issue of corporal punishment and abuse and there is a distinction. All corporal punishment is not considered abuse and that is where many adults are confused.

"In order to resolve some of these problems the Department of Education needs to come to terms with what might be considered as appropriate discipline procedures and leave little room for interpretation of the rules as they apply to various forms of discipline.

"They (Department of Education) can't just sit on the sidelines and wait for things to happen -- they need to provide guidelines to ensure that we operate as a system,'' Mr. Bassett concluded.

General Secretary of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, Milton Scott, said: "The BUT has never taken a position on corporal punishment but the Ministry of Education should put in place a programme that helps to decrease the occurrences of inappropriate behaviour.

"For example, for children who are acting out, or exhibiting inappropriate behaviour, or are a threat to the health and safety of other students there should be a programme in place that would enable them to obtain specialised counselling and or instructional programmes that will enable their needs to be met.'' He added that currently such programmes are not available to the extent that they should be at the pre-school, primary, middle and senior school levels in the public school system.

"Also there should be a universal code of conduct that applies to all schools and not guidelines based on which individual school develops their own code of conduct,'' Mr. Scott said.

Mount St. Agnes principal Sister Judith Rollo said the school has a definite discipline code which does not include corporal punishment.

According to the school's code of conduct for the high school division, any violation of school, policy or expectation will be assessed separately and judged accordingly.

"Each teacher should assume the responsibility for disciplining not only his/her own students but any who are in need of such.

"Some measures that may be taken are detention, `on report' which means the student carries a card with him/her throughout the day for a complete cycle.

"During which time the student's behaviour and effort is evaluated by each of his/her teachers. Other measures are `in-school' suspension, and red card policy which is given in cases of extremely serious acts of disrespect or defiance shown to a teacher or a serious disruption in the classroom.'' The student must leave the class in which the behaviour took place and is issue a red card by the guidance counsellor who discusses the severity of his/her actions. The student then goes to the principal's office to further discuss the problems and the card must go home to the parents to be signed.

The receiving of a red card automatically causes the students to lose any office that he/she may hold and will also deprive him/her of honours for the quarter in which the offence has occurred. The student is suspended for the day and must return the next day with his/her parents.

Northlands Primary School principal Dale Butler said he rarely used the strap before the most recent incident.

"It took me five minutes to find the strap because it hadn't been used in so long but in addition I do not have a reputation as a strapper, and I have always been reluctant to use the strap,'' Mr. Butler said.

He added: "The students involved spent the better part of the morning lying about what they had done and they implicated over 100 students. Finally the evidence was overwhelming that they had stolen over 300 gem stones from a woman and given them to teachers and students as gifts.

"I then put all nine of them in `in-school' suspension the students ran up and down the corridor threw books and rocks at each other. Teachers asked them to behave but they ignored them. They sucked their teeth and cut their eyes.

The last straw was to discipline them with the strap.

"I have been overwhelming supportive of every initiative directed by Sheelagh Cooper, supportive by initiatives by Department of Education, supportive of all initiatives form teachers to build self-esteem and better behaviour but in spite of all of that there remains a group of totally defiant students in schools that are immune to any other type of punishment. They are hard core students.

"The only thing that wakes them up is a strapping. And have they been better since -- it has also woken other students up. I believe if everything else fails the strap is needed.'' Mr. Butler said children want to know what the ultimate penalty is because they are not bothered by anything else.

"If there is a march to end the use of the strap I will not take part and I would not go against the decision but when students get completely out of control and people look to me for an answer I will not be available.'' The Coalition for the Protection of Children's Sheelagh Cooper said the organisation has never objected to the use of spanking in one's home -- used as a disciplinary tool and administered within the context of a supportive and loving environment.

"It is, however, our belief that not only are there more effective ways to shape children's behaviour, but the message that is sent through the use of this approach does little to contribute to the development of empathy and respectfulness in children.

"Furthermore, most child abuse occurs in the name of discipline and it is with that in mind that we urge parents to seek as many alternative approaches to shaping their children and behaviour before resorting to corporal punishment.''