Corporal Punishment

I would like to respond to the letter from Kenneth M. Henson of Decatur concerning corporal punishment.

I agree thoroughly with what he said and would like to add that while misbehavior has to be addressed in school, there are other methods to get a child’s attention to his or her misbehavior and the consequences thereof.

The only way to be sure your child is not spanked with a paddle is to have a letter on file with your child’s school, stating that they may not paddle them. Personally, I feel that if my child was to do anything that even came close to needing a paddling, I would gladly come to the school and deal with my child personally. They need only call me.

I also do not agree with some schools’ policies that boys will be paddled but girls won’t. I strongly feel this sends the wrong message to girls.

Stacie Wilson

Loxley, Ala.

People With Disabilities

Thank you for the articles regarding worship facilities being accessible to people with disabilities. Although (as the article mentioned) the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not apply to religious entities, we as God’s people should be compelled to make our facilities accessible to all people.

I am an information specialist with the Rocky Mountain ADA Technical Assistance Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. There are nine other centers across the country. These centers offer information on accessibility, disability awareness and disability etiquette. Your local center can be reached at 1-800-949-4232.

I am also the wife of a Baptist pastor and the mother of an 18-year-old son, Matthew. We joined the disability community when Matthew had meningitis at the age of 16 months and became deaf as a result of the illness. Disability is a natural part of our lives and will probably affect every family at some point.

With statistics showing approximately 53 million Americans with some kind of a disability, the number of individuals who can be impacted by an accessible facility is enormous. Thank you for bringing this to light in your articles.

Maggie Sims

Colorado Springs, Colo.