And guess what folks. It worked.

Parents & Citizens Association president Andy Carl said behavioral problems had reversed, while respect had risen among students and their parents, who were now proud to be a part of the school.

"I think you have just got to be tough with kids and I think a lot of schools aren't tough enough," Mr Carl said.

Queensland Association of State School Principals president Norm Hart said discipline crackdowns using suspensions and exclusions had been highly successful in improving student behaviour.

Ms Kearney said suspensions this year were down by a third.

"I expect it to go down even more this semester," she said.

The State Government is considering whether to grant school principals even stronger powers ito quell bad student behavior.

One thing I learned fairly quick when I began teaching a class myself: discipline takes effort! It's MUCH easier just to let things slide......

This is a great story, I hope she keeps kickin butt--they may hate her at first, but I bet she will be getting big huge thank yous in the future!

Teaching must be hard work. I never caused problems in school because I knew the punishment at home would be worse. Kids need to know who is in charge. Plus it's not fair to the students who are there and want to learn when you have a bunch of hell-raisers disturbing the class. But congrats to this principal for turning things around.