Teacher Faces Backlash After Video Surfaces Of Her Giving A Student 'Birthday Spankings'
While many condemned the tradition, others recalled similar experiences from their own childhoods and didn't see an issue.
Kristina Igumnovaz26, Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock Whenever it is a student’s birthday, teachers typically have a memorable tradition, such as allowing them to bring in cupcakes for the rest of the class or letting them pick out a prize from the class treasure box.
Most students, however, would not expect to be hit with a paddle to celebrate their birthday in school. One teacher has come under fire after a video of her practicing this controversial birthday tradition went viral.
The teacher was seen whacking one of her students with a wooden paddle on his backside, a tradition that is known as ‘birthday spankings.’
In the now viral video, the elementary school teacher from an unidentified school had the young student hold onto a desk as she gently smacked him with a wooden paddle from behind.
The action is known as “birthday spanking” and it is actually a widely known tradition in North America. As per the tradition, the birthday person has to allow someone else to whack them on their backside, typically with a paddle. The number of whacks they receive depends on their age.
While the teacher, birthday boy, and other students in the class seemed to be getting a kick out of the birthday spanking tradition, others slammed it as inappropriate
Some people believed the teacher's behavior was outrageous, and others saw no harm in the practice.
“That’s so messed up, and on his birthday too,” one TikTok user commented. “This is completely out of line,” another wrote.
Some parents shared that if they learned that their child had been subjected to birthday spankings, they would file a complaint with the school or pull them from the classroom entirely.
Other former students revealed that their teachers would engage in other birthday traditions that made them uncomfortable. One woman, who is now a teacher herself, claimed that while she was in school, one of her teachers would call up the birthday student to the front of the classroom and have them sit on her lap.
She would then proceed to give them birthday spankings in front of the entire class. After the spanking, the teacher would then give them a “pinch to grow an inch.”
“Can you imagine now how fast that teacher would be fired?” the woman says.
Another woman shared a similar story, revealing that her elementary school gym teacher would also have students sit on his lap on their birthdays and spank them with a paddle.
However, many people saw the practice as innocent.
“My teacher used to do this with us in my 3rd grade class and honestly it was the highlight of the year to see her celebrate with us,” one TikTok user shared. “The teachers used to do this at my public elementary school. It wasn’t even bad,” another commented. “He was literally smiling and laughing,” another noted of the birthday student depicted in the video.
While people may be on the fence when it comes to this wildly controversial birthday tradition, especially if it is done in schools, one thing should be clear: the birthday person must always give their consent beforehand.
Some may not have a problem with and actually enjoy participating in the tradition. Others may want to sit this one out.
Whatever their decision is, it should be entirely up to the birthday person and the birthday person only. It is their day of celebration, after all.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.