Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-11-03
Gail Hamilton on the Rod.

| relapse into barbarism sufficiently TO
suggest that In the present state of our civ
ilization and our school organization, cor
poral punishment is a means of grace which
we cannot abolish, and have not abolished
without injury. The necessity of using it is
very, perhaps increasingly, rare. The teacher
who frequently and freely resorts to it is
presumptively unfit for his situation. But
the power to use it should vest in the teacher
and is a preventive OF mischief. Corporal
punishment has never been abolished in the
kingdoms Of nature or of grace, Few we'll
trained or even ill-trained families exist, in
which. at some time or other, in greater or
less degree, some resort to it has not been
found necessary or made expedient. Many
a mother knows that, while five of her chill
dren can be governed by a look or an appeal
to their reason or their love, the sixth is
amenable only 10 the argument of little
whisk. Every teacher knows that there are
boys who, by some inward conformation or
some defect of home training, do not respond
TO the ordinary motives of the schoolroom.
Our delicacy, which thinks it unmanly and
barbarous to fog these boys, has no last re-
sort but to send them home. But what is
this? We are depriying them of school
privileges We are Wrestling from them the
opportunities for education. We are send
ing them back to parents who have already
showed themselves incapable of training
their children. Instead of supplementing
the defects of home, we intensity them.
We give the little victims over, unhelped
and hardened, to the cruel indulgence,
TO the fatal unwisdom of their untaught,
incapable guardians. To turn many of
these boys out of school is to turn them
upon the streets TO let them loose into a
life of idleness and lawlessness. II is UNI
Just to the parents, as well as ruinous TO the
child. The former have paid their share OF
the taxes which support the school, and they
have right 10 all the benefit which the
school is capable of bestowing. When they
send their children TO school, the school
ought to teach and govern them, not send
them home again. This is just what the
naughty boys want. In very many cases
the rod would not need to be used. II the
boy knows that, by playing tricks, or by
prolonged idleness, or contumacy or rebel
lion, he will only be sent adrift, he will play
the tricks and wrench himself free from re-
straint. II he knows, ON the contrary, that
the result of his tricks and his manners will
be personal chastisement, public discom-
future, and social disgrace, with his tasks TO
be performed just the same at the end of it
all, he win be very likely to give over his
contention before II be meddled with. The
mere knowledge that rod impends is the
turningpoint between vice and virtue The
boy may not be inherently vicious, but
"roguish." Half his trouble is the turbu-
ence of his animal spirits the overflow Of
his vitality hitherto unrestrainod, lawless,
and, il left lawless, certain TO work mischief.
The school supplies just that element of
austerlty, perhaps of justice, which the home
training lacked and which the boys charac'
ter needed. ! have heard teachers, who
themselves never inflicted corporal punish