The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-01-28
RANDOM THOUGHTS.
BY THE EDITOR.

reeited his own experience as a school-ooy in
New York, where he said he vividly remeIn-
bered that he was regularly whipped twice
day, but he could not, for his life, remember
what for. Washington Irving said the sight of
the inhuman punishment of pupils when he
was boy so tortured him that the master took
pity on him and let him go home with the girls
before the hogging began. Martin Luther said
the schools in his day were purgatory, and tells
of being whipped fifteen times in one day.
My father has often told me about a
teacher in Virginia when he was school
boy That was about ninety years ago.
His teacher was an Englishman, and he
said there was not pnpil in school, large
or small that did not get whipped he
was so cruel that many of the parents
took their children from school My
father said that this teacher had large
ferrule in his hand all the time, and if a
pupil looked off his book only for mo-
ment, and the teacher saw him, he would
pitch the ferrule to the boy, and he must
take it up, go to the teacher, make bow,
reach him the ferrule and hold out his
hand. The teacher would strike him in
the hand with the end of the ferrule.
This weapon was long fat rule, with
one broad end, and through this end was
hole as large as FIVE cent piece. My
father said that often when struck in the
hand with this end of the ferrule,
blood blister would be raised where the
hole was, in the end of the instrument.
For graver offenses, such as whispering
during school hours. he would tie up the
pupils and whip them.
This cruelty to children was not alto
gether confined to the schoolmaster.
Parents often beat their children most
cruelty The natural result of such
training was, that the child became as
cruel as the parent, and he would tyran-
nize over those who were weaker than he
was.
Even down to the present day children
are not treated by their parents in a
manner that will make them kind, good
forbearing and polite 1t has not been a
general practice among parents, even the
more refined, to permit their smaller
children to eat at the same time and at
the same table. when the family have
company And there are many families
who, when all alone, do not permit the
smaller children to eat with the older
members of the family. They must
either wait until the father, mother and
elder children have finished eating or
they have piece set out upon the kitch-
en- table, or they are permitted to amuse
themselves by scraping the pots, and
snatching pieces from one another. and
quarreling, and perhaps fighting over the
scraps. How can it be expected that
children thus treated will know any thing
about manners, or even common decency,
when they go out into the world?
There is a better way. Every child
who is large enough to sit upon its high
chair and eat at the table. should always
eat at the first table, no matter if the
President or Governor is a guest. 1t is
thus that refined manners at the table
are acquired. 1t would astonish person
who has never seen children thus
trained, to see how soon child will
learn to eat with degree of propriety
that would make many a man and wo
man blush at their own awkwardness al
table, where they have been denied this
early training.
While upon this subject of little things
in early training, permit me to gofarthel
into particulars, and throw out few
suggestions that may be a benefit to some
young parents.
Suppose you and your wife have tive
children, boy and a girl, say four anC
six years of age, respectively. You hav'
two men and their wives to dine will
you. When seated at the table, the TIVE
children on their high chairs, you frs
wait upon the two women. Then yol
ask your wife if she will be waited upon
Perhaps she will say she will not talk
anything until she pours the tea or coffee
Then you help your little girl, then tn
two men, then your little boy, and pei
haps by that time you can wait upol
your wife, and lastly help yourself. I
one of the children meets with any acci
dent, such as spilling its milk or coffee
or dropping its knife, never reproye ii
but treat it just as kindly and politely a
you would either of your guests unde
similar circumstances. No parent of re
fnement and good sense will ever speal
unkindly or harshly to his child in tn
presence of persons not of the family
There is. nothing that is more unpleasan
| 70 iati to u
child, and tends more to do it perma
nent injury Most children have ful
share of self-approbation, and they shoult
never feel that their parents are attempt
ing to degrade them. Children of tn
ordinary amount of intellect will neve
act at table so as to make their parent
feel ashamed OF them, if trained as hav
indicated They will not be grabbing fo
everything they see upon the table t.
which they take a fancy, as did tn
drummer at the Isham House, of whicl
l spoke last week. A child is just a
willing to wait a reasonable length Q
time until he can be waited upon. as ar
grown persons, provided he is taugh
lected
want not only young parents to rea
| the foregoing article, but 1 want all th
children who can read, to read it, an
act as have indicated.
: NUTS FOR ANNIHILATIONISTS.