OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Corporal punishment was a hot topic following a forum for candidates running for a seat in the House of Representatives. After the forum, an attendee recorded her exchange with Jonathon Wilk, a Republican candidate for House District 20. They were talking about whether or not disruptive kids should be paddled in school and Wilk appeared to champion paddling children, including some students with disabilities during a recent candidate forum. "I believe in corporal punishment for any kid that is acting out," said Wilk in a video. "And that would include physical and mental disabilities?," asked a citizen. "If they have the ability to act like a human being then they should be disciplined if they are not," said Wilk. "I think every teacher when I was growing up had a wooden paddle hanging up at the front of the room and I am a big proponent of that," said Wilk. Grand jury investigation uncovers mismanagement, waste in pandemic education relief funds The Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy says Oklahoma is one of the few states still allowing corporal punishment. Joe Dorman has been championing children's causes for years, and he said spanking does more harm than good. "With children who are younger, it's traumatizing to them," said Dorman. "We've had reports of children who are severely disabled through a developmental disability, who have received corporal punishment. They're not aware that they're doing something wrong." Other lawmakers like State Representative Jim Olsen, a Republican from Roland, thinks paddling can be positive. "If you go back to the founding of our nation, that was the normative thing. And it worked, and it worked very well," said Olsen. Olsen said the decision on whether to use corporal punishment should be left to the parents and the school district. "It really it comes down to what do you mean by disabled student and there's quite a range. There's a bigger range than most people realize," said Olsen. Wilk believes his comments were taken out of context, and sent News 4 the following statement: "The removal of discipline in the classroom is a major concern among my constituents. A lack of discipline is disruptive to classrooms and society in general. All true believers follow the word of God. As Proverbs 19:18 reminds us, 'Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn; if you don’t, you are helping them destroy themselves.'" Jonathon Wilk