RObert, I am genuinely sorry that you were treated that way and concede that proof of guilt or innocence is very difficult to establish and yet society as a whole has become too soft on socially unacceptable behaviors. I firmly believe that behavior, both good and bad, stems from learned behavior firstly in the home environment and later, in the class room. I've heard of teachers leaving the profession because they cannot form a respectful relationship between themselves and their students and while many might say "that's their problem, or they must be bad teachers" I don't think it's all the teachers fault. There are now no discipline factors in force strong enough to deter unruly class-room behaviors.
I don't pretend to have all the answers. Maybe it's a matter of private schools doing better at attracting a more studious class of children. Perhaps more money should be given to elevate the standards of public schools, but in the real World, we need positive disincentives to curb elevating anti-social behavior.

Aime, in the school situations more money for resourcing behavioural facilities can make a major difference.

Currently in Qld state schools the resources to run a bahaviour room (Responsible Thinking Classroom, Behaviour Adjustment Room etc) come out of the general pool so teachers who support having one are faced with larger class sizes as a consequence.

Many kids have not been taught the skills and strategies needed to manage their behaviours, the teachers who run behaviour rooms work with them to give them strategies to do things differently.

R0bert

RObert,
I agree with you and to elaborate a little on the subject of scholistic corporal punishment, statistics show that between 1965 and 1978 during the days when the cane or a home made bat ruled the classroom, most students left school after their 2nd year of high school, this was also the time when teachers were known to be picking on the smaller and weakest in the class, they would be caned for the slightest wrong doing and got to the point where the class actually looked forward to that particular lesson to see who would be wacked next. Glad those days are over for some of us!
Spanky

It seems to me that many expect the schools to do what many parents refuse to do (discipline their own children). It is easy to pick kids who receive corporal punishment (not abuse). Generally they are a lot more respectful, happier and secure than those who have been brought up without any useful punishment. I think it is the spoilt parents that really need the strap for deliberately ignoring commonsense and bowing to the hopelessly flawed social engineers who try and blurr proper disciple with abuse.

runner, you speak of the strap? Where I come from,bats and canes and rubber hoses were the in thing in my "normal" school, corporal punishment back in the 70's was indeed bordering on abuse and in some cicumstances lead to child abuse by the teachers, I'm talking about taking the child outside behind the sports toilets and beating the living daylights out of him (and sometimes, her!) Corporal punishment in the instance of adults who commit petty crimes is in itself a waste but the ones who commit haenous crimes, they are the ones who deserve to be hung drawn and quartered, like child abusers, rapists and murderers, murderers who commit the deed out of spite or negligence. Where does one actually draw the line? Most people commit bad crimes due to their upbringing, so it's not entirely their fault.
Spanky

Corporal punishment is barbaric and degrading and causes alienation and resentment, and strangely enough harsher penalties do not deter crime.
NSW has a harsher penalty regime than Victoria and the largest per capita prison population in Australia.
USA also has probably the most punitive system in Western world and much harsher than most of the rest world, yet they one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world.
I recently spent a whole day in court (waiting for a traffic matter to be heard)and my observation was, a lot of these people didn't deserve to go to goal, and they didn't, they had mental problems, low self esteem, low education, they had made questionable lifestyle choices, drug and alcahol problems, some might call them the dregs of society, I thought they had fallen through the cracks and there was no one there to point them in the right direction, it was a pitful sight and one that no one could be proud of, they had failed society and society has failed them.
I don't think well meaning or career minded university educated middle class counsellors are the answer, perhaps a mentor program using reformed acholics, drug users and crimanals, some one they can relate to, in conjunction with counsellors.
I don't know if it would work, but I have seen some amazing turnarounds on a couple of ABC TV programs dealing with the worst murders thieves and rapists in South Africa, these were serious habitual career criminals, beyond the pale and they rehabilitated them , if you watched The Choir Of Hard Knocks you can see what you can achieve if you push the right buttons.
And by the way I have been a victim of crime (I had my tools of trade stolen $10,000 worth and no insurance) and I know how it feels, you have fantasies about what you would do if you caught them, knowing all the while that you wouldn't really do anything, it just makes you really angry.