Corporal Punishment

Discipline is a little more hands-on in Taiwan than it is in America. My kids are in 5th grade, which is getting up there in age I think, but here's how our post-mid-term conversation went:

"What grade would you be happy with?"
"I am happy with over 80, but I have to get over 90 or my mom will hit me."
"Really?"
Another girl: "I have to get over 95 or my mom will hit me!"
Then the conversation turned to the instruments used for the beatings. The most popular seems to be the plastic handle on a feather duster (hold the feathers, beat with the handle); what is perhaps mis-translated as a large wood pencil; and slippers.

The kinda funny thing is, the 2 girls who get the best grades said their parents never hit them. One even said, "If I get a bad grade, my parents say, 'You can do better next time!'" Very sweet.