The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-10-20
Germs of adrtrtisino.
WHIPPING IN SCHOOLS.

tury ago 1t was no unusual thing to see
a whipping-post in the public square Of
an Incorporated town. Delighted crowds
often assembled to witness the nfliction
of the lash upon some culprit more than
ordinarily notorious and interesting ~
an offender against the statutes. Many
of the oldest inhabitants can still attest
that this spectacle in the "good old
! times" was only exceeded in point of at
traction by the superior novelty of
public execution. But fortunately In
such matters, progression is more i'm
perative law of human nature than
habit itself. Barbarous usages are pass
| ing away. Brave soldiers are no longer
liable to bodily castigation at the caprice
Of any petty tyrant; and in the navy,
where graver necessity exists than else
where for rigorous discipline, the cat-o'-
nine tails is preserved only ~ a relic OF
the past. 1t seems then almost incred-
ible that the inhuman practice OF corpo-
raj punishment should be retained in
schools for the instruction of the young;
but such, nevertheless, appears to be the
| fact.
The reason for this is mainly found,
no doubt, in the precept of solomon not
to spare the rod. PedagUgues who per-
haps were never able to illustrate the
story of their lives by any other scrip
tural injunction have been ever prone to-
| Justify their cruelty under the pgis of
this authority, just rs sailors have been
known to appeal to Providence only
during perilous storm at sea. But hu4
manity and common sense alike teach
that this proverb of human wisdom is
no more applicable in Christian com
munity than the vindictivo code of IN
eve for an eye and toOth for tooth.
1t is plainly set aside, directly or indi-
rcctly, by numerous passages in the in
spired truths of our Saviour.
Suppose boy to be chargcable with
talking, singing, dancing, and jumping
during school hours; this is no evidence
of an evil disposition, but rather of that
irrepressible vitality which is most like
ly to manifest itself at II later day in the
; business energy of the man. But admit
that the boy is really vicious, and that
: he wilfully persists in pastimes so in
: compatible with the regulations for
study. Are there no forms of moral res
} straint to satisfy justice and offer room
: for reformation? Assuredly the success
} full experiments in other spheres of ac-
l ton have been observed to little pur-
: pose if they are not to he construed as
| furnishing conclusive examples that the
law of kindness is on1nipotent above all
5 other methods in the cause of improve
r ment and humanity. Horses which
t have proved intractable under the whip
t of the groom have been tanned by Mr..
/ Rarey in an hour. Numbers of inebri-
= ates havebeen rescued from ruin through
: the influence of moral suason; while
comparatively few, if any, have been
: reformed by the application of force.
= Why not, then, apply this potent
= agency to the cause Of education? If %
| pupil becomes disobedcnt, an appeal
= should be made to his better nature and
| if that failed reasonable temporary
t restraint should bc laid upon his move
o ments. Let him be except in" during
n recess and debarrcd from play with his
S companions. If he continued rcfracto
# ry, the efficacy of extra tasks or Of per-
e sonal humiliation before the class might
| be tried. In nearly every instance, one or
@ another of such modes Of correction Will
: prove successful Should it happeii,
f however, that the transgressor Is utter
/ ly incorrigiblc, let him be ignominious-
- ~ expelled from the school. But, in
V the name OF all that is philanthropic
@ and good, do not cXcoriate the body of
a one formed In the image Of his Maker,
a and that one too of immature years,
t with permanent principles Of benevO-
e lence or hatred to be determined mainly
e by the experience Of his boyhood. 1t is
s. an offence and an ahomination in tho
i sight of Il civilized community.
e The mildest form Of corporal punish
l. mcnt applied in the schools is repug-
l. nant to humanity. The principle is
n radically wrong in itself No one was
1t ever benefited by blows and stripes ;
G. and sears under such treatment are the
g. insignia of Satan. 1t is not to be be-
er lieved that any new and beneficial ideas
can be introduced into the brains of
N chastsemcnt be inflicted with riding
Mt whip, and the body Of a stripping eXhib-
IN it severe bruises for several days there
W after, the affair can be designated only
H. as palpablc cnormity. If, in addition
M to this, testimony should show that the
ed boy had been thrown upon the floor, it
ed would beampie proof, whatever opinion
m to the contrary might be expressed by
ed spectators, that passion had usurped the
EN- place of reason, and that the teacher is
m totally unfit for the responsible avoca-
X tion of educating the young either for
Y, time or eternity. Bat, above all, should
e. it appear that the teacher in question is
ed not Il man, whose sensiblities may have
ch been bunted by rude intercourse with
the world, but one belonging to that
gentle kind whose mission on earth is
peculiarly that of love and mercy, the
case amounts to positive libel on the
sex, and the cheek of true womanhood
IL is put to the blush.
're Rather than the least possibility OF
ny such an occurrence should exist in the
$50 national metropolis OF America, it would
RS be wise proceeding, and one happily