When I was, oh, maybe twelve years old, I was living with my family in a suburb of Allentown, PA. The neighborhood kids would line up at the school bus stop near our home.
Shortly after arriving at school one day, I was summoned to the principal’s office. There, I was informed that I had played with matches at the bus stop that morning. The informant was named—one of the girls waiting in line. I vaguely recall her appearance. Because of this “crime,” the principal made me bend over, after which he struck me on the butt several times with a piece of wood designed for this purpose. After I returned home, I told my mother about it. She shrugged, and that was the end of it.
I was, and I still am, confused by this. Was I playing with matches? How could I defend myself? Why was a school principal allowed to strike a child?
Question: Would that little girl have ratted a child playing with matches if that child was a girl, not a boy? Most people say “No” to this.
Great thought!