And the Beat Goes Out

Chalk one up for mischievous schoolchildren. Britain's House of Commons last week struck down a longtime classroom practice: punishment by the cane. The bill abolishing corporal punishment in state-run schools passed by a bare 231 to 230. An earlier version would have retained caning while allowing parents to exempt their children from the practice, but critics charged that the measure would divide students into "beatables" and "unbeatables." Last week's final approval came despite the Education Minister's warning that "the abolition of corporal punishment would send out wrong signals."

Some Britons agree that caning is inhumane and should not be practiced. This position was emphasized on the day of the vote by a London Standard photo of Schoolboy Barry Tavner, 13, displaying his beaten bottom after he received five strokes from his headmaster for getting low grades. Ironically, Tavner, who attends a private school, will not be affected by the ban. Others have long advocated allowing teachers to strike. Said a Welsh councilman: "Sending a teacher into a classroom with no cane is like sending a boxer into the ring with one hand tied behind his back."