Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-30

is much more common than heretofore, and
manifestations of i'll temper ana i'll man.
ners much more frequent.
"Fourth-Insolent behavior and indif-
ference and disrespect toward all school au-
thority have greatly increased.
ssFifth-Truancy is more frequent.
ssSixth-Personal Cleanliness, also the
proper care of books, states and otherschool
property, are not as easily secured as for
merly.
"Seventh-Gross disobedience in all sorts
of matters such as to require the interfer-
ence of some authority external to the
teacher, has greatly increased.
"Eighth-The defiance of parental au-
thority, especially in cases of children with
widowed mothers, has more than doubled;
MANY such boys, proving entirely beyond
control, have drifted out of the schools in
to the streets or workshops, or private
schools.
"Ninth-Pupils in the higher classes are
less docile than formerly, thus showing that
previous school training has not tended to
form habits of obedience and submission.
"Tenth-Teachers have, to some extent,
fallen into the habit of overlooking offences
by boys known to be beyond parental con-
troll, and have thus lowered their standards
of discipline to the injury of their pupils.
Decentralization are ruder both in
and out of school, and less respectful than
under the old system.
Twelfth-InstanceS of gross and contin-
ued neglect of studies are more frequent.
This has nearly doubled the labor of the
class teachers, while the advancement of
the children in given time has been much
less.
'Thirteenth-Poor men are often COM
PEELED to visit the schools to assist in gov
erning their children, often at great incon-
venience and loss of part of days work,
and make it cause of complaint against
the Public Schools. Moreover, pa entail
settlement of school difficulties and punish
ment for school offences have no restrain
ing influences upon other scholars.
Teachers resort to ques-
tionable expedients to secure that obedience
and attention, without which their classes
cannot be brought up to grade.
Fifteenth-Juvenile lawleSsness, rude
ness, profanity and crime have manifestly
increased since the abolition of corporal
punishment, thus proving a directly evil
influence upon society in general.
''SiXteenth-A large number Of bad chill
dren, who might have been reformed under
the old system, have been worked out Of
the schools, or taken out and put where
they could be made to mind
'While, therefore, in the opinion of your
committee this question is ole of very Sc
rious import, and we have no reason TO
doubt that the tendency elsewhere is to i'm
itate the practice which has been lately
adopted in our schools, dispensing with the
use of the rod altogether, we feel compelled
to say that the experience of our ableSt and
most successful teachers in and out of our
public schools leads us to the opinion that
no real practical good has resulted from the
change, but that, ON the contrary, much
evil has been occasioned by it. The effect
of unrestrained disorderly conduct on the
part Of one pupil in class is, of itself, suf-
ficient to demoralize the whole class. There
is at present but one remedy under our
rules for such cases, and that is to remove
the bad influence and example by
expulsion, which results in turn
ing bad boy into the streets.
This not only does not work a salutary
change in the pupil, but removes all chances
of his permanent reformation, and in this
connection we cannot refrain from calling
the attention OF the Board to the fact that
in most Of the reformatory institutions in
this city We find quite a number of bright
boys who have actually been placed there
simply because their parents, by their own
confession, could not control them at home,
and could not have them properly governed
in our schools, where they ought now
to be.
"YOW Committee, therefore, recommend
that Section 40 Of Article XIV be amended.
-. N. HALSTED,
"JoHN CROSBY BROWN,
CIVILIAN Down,
''FEBDINAND FRAUD,
Committee on Teachers.