We don’t want some secretary on an abusive power trip to duct tape one of our children because he or she is misbehaving. And trust me, we have one child for whom that fate would be a distinct possibility if duct-taping were the norm.

If the mother’s account of what happened after she heard of the incident is true, the most infuriating aspect of the story is that the school’s principal all but ignored the mother’s complaint. That is a frequent problem in public schools. Administrators are quick to defend their officials and employees for behavior that obviously crosses lines of decency.

Parents are better off teaching their kids at home than fighting against the protect-our-own syndrome infecting American schools today.

(Read previous “Why We Home-School” lessons.)