JEN’SSECOND PADDLINGSuzy & Jen Mr Halder on left I got paddled on Friday, Dec 15 2006. 6 swats from Mr Halder for cutting 3 classes. Senior year and less than 4 months to graduation! WOW! I was REALLY not going to go public with this because I feel SO stupid about it. I REALLY thought I was going to get away without getting caught!!! Here’s the whole story…Me and 2 other girls cut 3 classes on 12/15. It was the first 3 classes of the day. It was one of those "spur of the moment" decisions that obviously didn't take much thought or planning. It was the last day before winter break so we thought we were safe from getting caught. The 3 of us met at Sonic and had breakfast and then snuck on campus between periods 3 and 4. My 4th M-W-F class is cosmology 305 (an elective) and people come in late for that class all the time. So I snuck in and went on about my day. I was called in after 5th period, which is PE. Cheerleaders and drill team members are allowed to practice their routines during P.E. and we usually change into workout clothes or leggings depending on ho w cold it is in the gym. Other girls change in to their gym shorts. I was in spandex leggings. Our lone female Assistant Principal, Ms. Marshall, called me out and asked me if I had cut my first 3 classes along with Kaitlyn and Suzy. I knew I was caught, so admi tted it and she told me to come down to her office. When I got there, Kaitlyn and Suzy were there and so was Mr. Halder. I was relieved to see Mr. Halder because I don't like Ms. Marshall. She has a mean streak to her. She also comes off as being sort of a cold person. Mr. Halder saw me and I saw him and I lowered my head out of embarrassment. I was worried that he thought I didn't want to talk to him. That wasn't it at all. We sat outside Ms. Marshall's office while she and Mr. Halder talked inside. After a few long minutes, Mr. Halder came out and asked me if I wanted to come with him down to his office. Either that, or I could stay and talk with Ms. Marshall. He could have left me to the killer (Ms. Marshall) but for some reason, he takes an interest in me. He didn't talk to Kaitlyn or Suzy. I told him I'd like to come with him. I stood up and walked out with Mr. Halder. I like Mr. Halder. He's a nice man. I trust him and respect him. I can't say the same about our other A/Ps. I like them okay, but I don't know them all that well. Mr. Halder and I go to the same church. I know Kaitlyn and Suzy thought that I was crazy because I looked back and saw a strange look on their face as we were walking out. Mr. Halder and I walked down the hall to his office. Several kids saw us. They probably saw the blank look on my face! When we got to his office, Mr. Halde r told me to sit down. I sat on his couch and he sat next to me. He gave me a big huge sigh and then told me to tel l him what I did. I nervously told him. I won't go into the details of what we did because it's a long story. He wasn't angry. He talked to me but he didn't put me down. After a 15-minute talk he moved and sat down behind his desk. He told me I could either have a paddling or be suspended for 3 days, commencing after winter break. The 3-day suspension, that would have been effective after winter break, sounds like 3 more days of break, but it's not that simple because you miss 3 days of assignments. You get a ZERO for every assign ment you miss and you're n ot allowed any make-ups. I really, really thought he was being harsh on me and I told him that in no uncertain terms. He then went into a long lecture that eventually made sense to me. I asked him how many swats I'd have to take and he said 6, which I think is the school maximum. I don't know why I had to get 6. I later discovered
I got paddled on Friday, Dec 15 2006. 6 swats from Mr Halder for cutting 3 classes.Senior year and less than 4 months to graduation! WOW!
I was REALLY not going to go public with this because I feel SO stupid about it. I REALLY thought I
was going to get away without getting caught!!! Here’s the whole story…
Me and 2 other girls cut 3 classes on 12/15. It was the first 3 classes of the day. It was one ofthose "spur of the moment" decisions that obviously didn't take much thought or planning. It wasthe last day before winter break so we thought we were safe from getting caught.
The 3 of us met at Sonic and had breakfast and then snuck on campus between periods 3 and 4.My 4th M-W-F class is cosmology 305 (an elective) and people come in late for that class all the
time. So I snuck in and went on about my day.
I was called in after 5th period, which is PE. Cheerleaders and drill team members are allowed topractice their routines during P.E. and we usually change into workout clothes or leggingsdepending on how cold it is in the gym. Other girls change into their gym shorts. I was in spandexleggings. Our lone female Assistant Principal, Ms. Marshall, called me out and asked me if I had
cut my first 3 classes along with Kaitlyn and Suzy. I knew I was caught, so admitted it and shetold me to come down to her office. When I got there, Kaitlyn and Suzy were there and so was Mr.Halder. I was relieved to see Mr. Halder because I don't like Ms. Marshall. She has a mean streakto her. She also comes off as being sort of a cold person. Mr. Halder saw me and I saw him and Ilowered my head out of embarrassment. I was worried that he thought I didn't want to talk tohim. That wasn't it at all.
We sat outside Ms. Marshall's office while she and Mr. Halder talked inside. After a few long
minutes, Mr. Halder came out and asked me if I wanted to come with him down to his office.Either that, or I could stay and talk with Ms. Marshall. He could have left me to the killer (Ms.Marshall) but for some reason, he takes an interest in me. He didn't talk to Kaitlyn or Suzy. I toldhim I'd like to come with him. I stood up and walked out with Mr. Halder. I like Mr. Halder. He's anice man. I trust him and respect him. I can't say the same about our other A/Ps. I like them
okay, but I don't know them all that well. Mr. Halder and I go to the same church. I know Kaitlynand Suzy thought that I was crazy because I looked back and saw a strange look on their face aswe were walking out. Mr. Halder and I walked down the hall to his office. Several kids saw us.They probably saw the blank look on my face!
When we got to his office, Mr. Halder told me to sit down. I sat on his couch and he sat next tome. He gave me a big huge sigh and then told me to tell him what I did. I nervously told him. Iwon't go into the details of what we did because it's a long story. He wasn't angry. He talked to mebut he didn't put me down. After a 15-minute talk he moved and sat down behind his desk. Hetold me I could either have a paddling or be suspended for 3 days, commencing after winterbreak. The 3-day suspension, that would have been effective after winter break, sounds like 3more days of break, but it's not that simple because you miss 3 days of assignments. You get aZERO for every assignment you miss and you're not allowed any make-ups. I really, reallythought he was being harsh on me and I told him that in no uncertain terms. He then went into a
long lecture that eventually made sense to me. I asked him how many swats I'd have to take andhe said 6, which I think is the school maximum. I don't know why I had to get 6. I later discovered
Suzy got 5 from ‘The Killer’ Ms Marshall, and Kaitlyn chose to be suspended.
It was REALLY a hard decision and Mr. Halder could tell I was struggling with it. Then I asked himif I would be spanked (yes, I used that word) by him or by Ms. Marshall. He told me it was my
choice. I asked him if he had a recommendation for me and he told me that he recommended Itake the spanking (yes, HE used that word). He didn't say that I should take it from him, but IGOT that impression from him. I think when you're in a situation like we were, you're in survivalmode and your thoughts are generally short term. You just want to get WHAT EVER over with. Idon't get as wound up over pending punishment as most girls. I'm used to being punished athome so I'm able to think more rationally than girls who are not used to being disciplined. I thinkof the short term and of the long term when I choose how I want to be punished. I also leaned
heavily on what Mr. Halder thought was best for me. Kaitlyn didn't have anyone to work with herand neither did Suzy. Their choice of punishment was left totally up to them. Mr. Halder helped meto decide what was best for me in the short and long term. I was blessed to have his guidance.
Mr. Halder told me that he couldn't keep this off my record. He said too many people know aboutit and it wouldn't be fair to the other girls who would be having the incident put on their record. Iunderstood.
I chose the swats and I asked him to do it. I don't like Ms. Marshall but I did like Ms. Lenington.
She was our woman Assistant Principal that quit last summer. If she had been there instead of Ms.Marshall, it would have been a toss up between her and Mr. Halder, on who I would have wantedthe paddling from.
I chose paddling because I wanted to get it over with. My only regret is that I didn't THINK aboutwhat I was wearing. I was wearing thin black stretch pants. OUCH!! But that is nothing butcircumstance working against me. I happened to be wearing what I was wearing THAT day. Butthe type of clothing I wore made a big difference. I had read about girls jeans and underweartypically being thinner than boys jeans and underwear but I had not thought that it really mademuch difference, however I WILL say that there is a big difference between being paddled through
jeans versus being paddled through stretch pants.
I posted what happened to me in a Christian group of teens and I took some heat for wearingspandex pants to school. In fact, I didn't mention anywhere that they were spandex for thelongest time. But to be honest, I don't see the big deal as long as shorts are worn over them whichis a requirement at the HS I went to. But we didn't always wear the shorts when we werepracticing our routines. To answer your question, my shorts were in my gym bag and I didn't takemy gym bag with me to Mr. Halder's office. If I had been thinking clearly, I probably would haveasked to be able to put them on.
From that point of saying I’d take the swats, I was in a fog. I was so nervous, I wasn't sure WHATwas going on. If you've ever been swatted at school, you know that the last thing that's on yourmind is, "woo hoo, this is SO exciting"… My first reaction was one of being stunned and more orless not knowing what to do next. The first paddling caused me even more of a stunned feelingbecause I wasn't sure what to expect and what was expected of me. This time I wasn’t quite as nervous and a little more confident. I went into it with a different attitude but it turns out I wasn'tas brave as I thought I was going to be…
There is a form that I had to sign, so Mr Halder went over that with me. He has one of thoseoffices that has a window to the outer office, but I didn’t think about whether anybody outsidewould see me get paddled, or hear it. There are people that sit near his office but I don'tremember any familiar faces when we went in.
He then called in a witness. His name is Mr. Dietrich and he teaches psychology and socialscience. I've never been in any of Mr. Dietrich's classes, so I don't know him that well but heseems nice to me. Mr Dietrich didn't talk to me other than to say hello or something like that. He
was all business. Mr. Halder was more casual about it all. Mr. Dietrich only showed up to watchthe paddling. After that, he left. I would have PREFERRED that it only be Mr. Halder there to swatme but it didn't work out that way. But I don't think this is anyone's fault other than my own.
Mr Halder got up and closed the door and closed the blinds just before IT began. Because I was
wearing the black stretch pants I didn't have to do the thing with emptying out my pockets, like I
did the first time I got swats in jeans, since I didn't have any pockets this time. My shirt wasn'tlong enough to cover my behind so that didn't apply this time either.
Then he got the paddle out of his desk. Mr Halder told me to lean over his desk and "get into
position". I was told to bend over the desk and HOLD ON. He didn't explicitly tell me to spread myfeet WIDE apart. He did tell me to spread 'em. I think they have you do that to help you maintainyour balance. I grabbed the other side of the desk. My hands were out in front of me. So I had tobend over Mr. Halder's desk, just like the last time he swatted me. Ms. Marshall usually paddlesthe girls in my school, and she makes you lean on to the desk but not all the way over. I think MrHalder told me twice during the punishment to "stick it out" but I knew the drill so I did that on myown when I first bent over the desk. It's easy to do before the first swat but much harder to do
before the sixth one!
Mr Halder moved behind me and to my left, carrying the paddle. Mr. Dietrich stood behind me andto my right, so he was looking at me from behind, but I think that is what he's supposed to do.They didn't tell me to face forward. I seemed to be bent over for a long time.
Mr Halder rubbed me with the paddle before he started. I didn’t mind, but I don't GET why he didit. He also patted me with the paddle. It seemed to take forever before I got that first swat.Eventually he put the paddle against my behind and then smacked me with it. The sound was
pretty loud. I noticed a diff, not only in the sound of impact but in how well it was FELT, too! Idon't think the sound was like a gun shot but it was pretty loud. The pain was more or less what Iexpected but it's not something you can prepare yourself for. After that first swat I didn’t see howI could take another five!
The other 5 swats went real slowly, too. He patted me with the paddle again in between a coupleof the swats. That bugs me because it makes me think a swat is on the way and I naturally lurchforward. They don't like it when you do that. They want your behind out and if you lurch forward,they expect you to get back in position immediately. It's humanly impossible not to move somewhen you get swatted.
My hands stayed out in front of me, gripping the desk edge, except after the second swat, when Iyelped and jumped up, grabbing my behind. I wasn’t supposed to, but I just had to have a rub! Iwas totally not ready for the intensity of the paddling. That second swat really hurt bad because Imoved a little. I knew it was coming and I was trying to brace myself for it. It's hard to explain.That 2nd swat landed too low and a little to one side. I really just wasn't ready for it. The intensityof the pain made me stand straight up and lurch forward. Mr Halder wasn't angry. He just told me
to bend back over and so I did. After that he placed his left hand on my lower back, to keep meover the desk. I was crying after the 3rd swat. I was such a baby. It WAS embarrassing. Iremember bawling after the 3rd swat. I was SO embarrassed. I was embarrassed aboutcrying/yelping but I wasn't going to try to hold it in the 2nd time I was paddled. I'm not that stoic!It was so bad I also think a GUY would have cried. I raised up from the desk again a little afterthe 5th one, and by the 6th swat, I was numb. It was bad, bad, bad. Although I think he wasn't allthat hard on me, I was STILL in shock over all that was going on. I'm normally alert and aware of
everything going on around me, but this paddling was such an off-the-wall experience for me, thatit was hard to fathom at the time it was happening.
I think he did do IT a little harder than last time BUT what I was wearing (or wasn't wearing)made THE biggest difference. I didn't think about it at the time but my leggings gave me NOpadding back there. I sure felt it more because of what I was wearing and because I got six swatsinstead of three. This paddling was right there with the whipping my dad gave me in '05 for
cutting. Both seemed equally bad to me. 6 swats from Mr Halder was far worse than the 3 he gaveme the first time. I don't think the intensity was much worse, but the amount of time it took to get6 swats was HARD to deal with. I don't know, it may have really only taken 30 seconds, but that'sa long TIME to me.
I looked back 3 times during the paddling and Mr. Dietrich was standing there with his armscrossed. He was watching my behind. I don't know what else he was supposed to be doing. I canonly say that it LOOKED like his only function was to watch me get swatted and he sure did justthat.
He did paddle me harder than last time or maybe it was that I got twice as many swats, but I cantell you it was MUCH more painful than the last paddling. I would say TWICE as painful is about
right. I really can't describe it. I don't think he swung harder, but it was twice as many swats thanthe first time and that's was a shocker for me. I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was when Ibravely told him I wanted the swats!
After the 6th swat Mr Halder didn't say anything right away. I stood up after a minute, still cryingand bawling, and rubbed my behind. I wasn't too embarrassed about grabbing my behind. I'm nota shy person and I don't hide my feelings well. If I'm in pain, I'll show it readily. As far as themseeing me grab my behind, they had both stared at my behind during the swats so I wasn'tworried about what they thought when I put my hands on it. I was just trying to get some relief!Mr Halder said something about he was sorry it had to happen or something like that. I don'tremember his exact wording. Then Mr Dietrich left the office.
I was crying hard after it was over. When Mr Dietrich had gone I sat down on Mr Halder’s couchand bawled. I remember him putting the paddle away and then sitting down at is desk. He didn’task me if I was OK right away, but he said one or two things to me. I think he was trying tocomfort me verbally but I wasn't listening, and then I left. I was still sobbing and I'm sure I lookedterrible. I don't remember any other students seeing me but I'm sure some did. I don't know whosaw me leave Mr Halder’s office, I was crying and couldn't see straight. If anyone saw me, I didn'tsee them. It was hard to walk. My behind was numb in one place and stinging everywhere else. Ithink I got 3 or 4 of the swats in the same place and that made it especially numb there.
It was VERY hard to sit in my car BUT I wanted to get home as fast as I could. I was VERYuncomfortable. I took my own car that day and I was able to get home but I was totally numbback there. It was still hard to walk when I got out.
I DO remember my behind being numb for hours and the redness still being there the nextmorning. Sitting down wasn't my only problem. Even walking was hard to do! But, sitting was themost difficult. We have a puffy couch in our family room. I spent a lot of time there.
I was numb all that night and sore the next day. I didn't do much THAT weekend! I THOUGHT itwas going to be like the first paddling, only with twice as many swats. In FACT, this time was
MUCH more painful. I definitely did the ole inspection routine a few times. I wasn't bruised (allthings considered I’m surprised!)... but it StUnG much more than my first paddling. I s'pose that'sthe best description of the diff between getting it on jeans and getting it on stretch pants.
I went straight home after my paddling and so did Suzy. I didn't see her after, but I called her onSunday and we talked about it. I think she was more upset over the swats than I was. She cried
too but I still don't think her paddling was as bad as mine. She had her gym shorts on and she gotone less swat than me. I guess Ms. Marshall was hard on her though...with the lecturing and allthat. It was her first paddling and she totally regrets taking it. Suzy couldn't believe I took myswats from Mr. Halder. I confessed to her that it wasn't my first paddling from him. I talked toKaitlyn that Sunday as well. Kaitlyn took the 3-day pass.
I didn't tell dad right away. Mr. Halder called him around 8:00 that night and told him. Dad had
worked late anyway so it's not like he was home long enough for me to talk to him before Mr.Halder called. Dad was upset with me and upset that I didn't call him at work and tell him whathappened. I don't know how many minutes the lecture went on for, but it felt like an eternity! He
grounded me for 3 days. I got off REAL light with him. The LECTURE though....was a KILLER. I'msurprised I didn't get a "whoopin", but I'm not complaining!!! If YOU had been paddled instead ofme, you would probably think it was enough, but I was so sure I would get the belt. With my dad,I never know how he's going to react to something I do wrong. He's unpredictable but after he
found what I went through at school, I think he decided I had enough! I thought I had had enoughpunishment BUT I still expected to get the belt from dad because that's what happened to me thelast time I got caught cutting. I don't think anything happened to my gf's that got caught with me.I know their parents know but...
I did see Mr. Halder at church. It was hard to face him so I avoided eye contact with him as muchas possible. We talked last week when I went to his office to talk to him about UT Georgia. Hewanted to know what I was going to major in and if I was going to the cheerleader tryouts nextmonth. We didn't talk too much about the swats. I think he knew I FELT IT! I told him that Iwouldn't want it to happen again! I don't INTEND to let him down again. In fact we have
mentioned my swats twice since that day. My relationship with Mr. Halder is still good. I don'thold anything against him. Honestly, just the opposite. He could have left me to the killer (Ms.
