Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1874-10-13
FIRST EDITION.



in the Public Schools of this city. which had
been postponed at previous meeting of the
Board of Education, came up last evening,
when Mr., Baird, the mover of the resolu-
ton, stated that he had not changed his mind
but was now ready to vote for its passage.
Mr.. Moore was oot willing to vote uncondtion-
al abolition of corporal punishment, aud hop
ed that the resolution would be so modified as
to require suspension for one month for the first
offence, and greater length Of time for the sec
ond.
Mr.. Roberts moved that the Superintendent,
who was present, be requested to give his views
upon the question, which motion, after some OBJ
jections Of DR.. Grimshaw and Mr. Zebley, was
adopted.
Mr. Harlan said the objections TO the motion
had placed him in somewhat embarrassing po-
sition, but he would as a matter of duty, express
his Judgment that the adoption OF the pending
resolution would have an unfavorable influence.
There are many boys now in the streets who
should be in school, but who could not be taken
in, unless there was maintained at least the fear
of punishment. There ia no doubt that severe
whipping and much whipping have all unhappy
effect on school, But as the last resort for
some cases, it was, In his opinion, needful that
the teachers should have authority to use the
rod.
Mr. johnson expressed himself aa surprised
to hear the remarks of the Superintendent, sur
prised that good citizen should stand up here
and advocate delegating to these ladies' the pow
er TO commit assaults and batteries offences
which the laws of the State prohibit by fines
and penalties. II any fogging is to be done
let the parents do it. When the children offend
in school send them home, and let the parents
correct them. There is not man here in this
Board who would like to have his boy whipped
by teacher in the public schools.
Mr. Roberts was just as much surprised at the
remarks of the gentleman who had lust spoken.
70 hear him, the outside world might think we
were barbarans. Many OF those boys cannot
be controlled even by the parents. They are
the ones who have to be corrected at at school,
and II not they would have to be turned out.
Their parents pay taxes and they demand that
their children shall be educated. We have a
State law and teachers are amenable TO that law,
in case they iniiict excessive punishment. This
is a sufficient check upon teachers when put in
force.
MI Baird hardly understood the remarks of
the superintendent He thought them very in
definite. If school committees would but do
their duties there would probably not be any
such cases of disorder in the schools as had been
described. Dismssing from school has no ef-
feet, for the parent of tle dismissed scholar
goes right away to the committee and gets a
note OF admission for the dismissed pupil He
had understood that another severe case OF
whipping had occurred in No. 10, and by the
same teacher who had 30 violently whipped the
boy reported at the last meeting of the Board.
(Here the committee OF No. 10, promptly inter
fupIeu anu denied lllhu VI lno
kind had occurred.) Indeed whipping in that
school appears to be the rule, the teacher as he
ID informed whipping at the rate or JO week.
(Several members promptly denied the report J
Mr. b. said he got his information from teachers.
II. Nj. Jenkins expressed his qualification at
hearing at the Committee of No. Is promptly
say there was absolutely no truth in the story
referred to by his colleague, (Mr. Baird) He
said that he was convinced the principal Of
No. I5 had an extremely difficult position to fill
an Il fiaCa1 q ltat
OF the Board In the organization and discplin-
ing of her school. She had been referred to ut
| the previous meeting with much severity, and
he believed very unjustly The case there had
been grossly exaggerated. lie mentioned TINS
matter, now, because excessive severity 10 No.
| Is had beon quoted as a reason, two weeks ago,
| for the adoption Of the pending resolution. AS
| to It,, he said his views had undergone no change.
There are IN Wilmington, hundreds of childron,
| of school age, running the Streets not employed
| but learning the lessons of vice and crime.
A report of the Superintendent, recently,
showed that there was a very large number OF
such children. Shall we add recruits to tins
army He was well satisfied that IL corporal
punishment and the fear of it be removed from
| the schools there were many Of those pupils
most difficult to control who would have to be
permanently expelled. He had asked a princi-
! pal teacher "FIow many pupils have you ~
/ She answered 1885, "How many, in your judg-
| ment, must DO permanently dismissed, If you
are forbidden to use corporal punishment p To
| this she answered that she thought from thirty
| TO forty. Now this teacher seemed to him most
| conscientious in the discharge of her duty, and
expressly avowed her reluctance to intict pun
| ishment. He therefore presumed that there
| must be large MI nber of children, taking all
| the schools OF the city who must if the resolu-
| ton prevailed. be turned out and added to the
| great army who were being recruited for the
| service of Crime. lie thought that the duty OF
/ the Board was NOT only to provide education, but
SO maintain order and discipline in tue schools
| that all the children sent there should receive
| the benefit of the instruction provided. II il
/ not our business 10 throw the troublesome chill
dren out of school, With the object OF making II
| easy and pleasant to manage those remaining
but to enforce order, even ii moderate and rea-
sonable corporal punishment be necessary to
that end.
Mr.. Speakman was entirely opposed to corpora
punishment. Flegging will never bring thes'
children into the schools The Superintendent
says 1t has an unhappy affect There Is not 81
much tlogging now as there was, some year
ago when some of the teachers in this Stat
signed receipts for money with !" mark" Tit
drift Of public opinion il onward, and more ant
more opposed to force. We are travelling
toward the right state OF things, and unlike thai
line which always approaches but never meets it
let us 90 to the circumference, now
The nearer wo go to il, the more W.
are opposed to corporal punishment. Yon can.
not conquer boy by iogging. He breaks ou
into new rebellion, each worse than the pre-
ceding one for which he was logged paren
stated that his boy did not go to school, q
he thought he did, and he logged him about 1t
The next day he had to do the same thing ant
still the boy would not CO. Now what arc you go
ing to do about It'll The gentleman from the Stl
Ward, CHR. zebley,) was right when some tim
ago speaking in reference TO a delinquent OH
cal, he SAID " we should bring the man up +
the Office and not the ofice down to the man." 1
teacher should not be degraded to the level o
, using brute force in whipping children. She ha
: another duty to perform she must develop tn
boys better nature by acts OF kindness and gen
| teness. Mr.. 8. then alluded to his experience a
! a teacher in " frontier county of Pennsylva
r MIA" where he conquered school b
kindness. The scholars had repeated,
whipped former teachers. In taking the school
he was told by the Directors not to mind teach
ing the scholars anything but conquer them b
force and establish Order He did nothing o
the kind, but his first act was to throw ont th
old hickory wattlee, aud inspire the boys wit
. confidence. This being done, the rest was easy
and no force was used in that school while h
4 was there. Teachers must act honestly wit
: boys and treat them as men, Opposition to col
poral punishment is the spirit of the age, and
was surprised to find gentlemen OF the Boar
who wei re always found in the fore front OF re
form now standing upon the coat-tail of Pre-
gress and shouting "whoa ~
DIR. drmshaw referred TO the fact that fiog
ging in the Navy had been abolished and orde
l was maintained, there. He had visited school
where the most whipping was done and thei
found the most disorder. He then reviewe
| some instances of whipping in the public Schoo