Paula Flowe, 2008 Ms. Flowe is a Member of the Board of Directors of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education

Paula Flowe, a native New Yorker, has been an educator since 1980, completing her B.A. at Brooklyn College and M. Ed. at the University of Hawaii. She has primarily taught in Special Ed. Resource Programs on the elementary and secondary grade levels in New York, Hawaii, Florida, Los Angeles, and San Jose, CA . Presently, Paula instructs a Reading and Writing Strategies class at San Jose City College. Paula directs cultural school presentations annually, and oftentimes participates in dance performances with her students. In her newly formed campaign, "The Hitting Stops Here!" one of her objectives is to enroll educators in discontinuing the use of corporal punishment in cities and states where this practice is lawful and to urge parents and educators everywhere, to participate in having this practice banned in the remaining 21 US states. Currently Paula is studying to become a Positive Discipline Certified Associate, a discipline methodology designed by Dr. Jane Nelsen. Parents and Educators trained by this method learn to see "mistakes as opportunities for learning." It is Paula's vision to see corporal punishment replaced with positive discipline methods that focus on treating children with kindness and respect, with the goal of having students and teachers work together to find solutions rather than punishment. Paula is a single parent of one daughter, Nia, who is attending her first year of college.