Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-05-22
NO 122.
miscellaneous.
IN OR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Ii is we'll 10 bc calm in the discussion of
this at best. uncomfortable question. II is
ofno use to get excited and make whole
sale attacks on teachers because now and
then a child in rebellion is severely dealt
with. No one wants 10 have the children
punished. Ii were infinitely more pleas
ant for pupils. teachers, parents and the
community at large To have no rol used;
but the fact is. the schools must he disci-
plincd. We will all hail with JOY the day
when no prison will have to be erected in
the land. when no sentences will have to
pe pronounced hV the courts; but that
day does not appear Ia have arrived yet.
Facts are stubborn things. and il is n
fact that there are tens of thousands of
children in the public schools of Boston
from homes of every shade and tone of
disciplinary color. in some OF which abus-
i've treatment Is daily received, while in
others the child ignores and controls the
parent. \ thousand children. more or
less. are thus brought together to be
taught unless they are well disciplied. The
moment Il teacher loses the mastery of n
single scholar he hae lost all power for
good rs an instructor. Ninc-tenths of the
school are punished. corporally. ut home.
They are not all. even in their homes,
purely angelic; and when fifty of them
are in one room. or five hundred of them
in the yard il requires marvellous tact and
skill to control them. even under the best
of circumstances. Nine men will fail
where one will succeed The ideal teacher
has sufficient magnetism ohold the inter-
est and command the love and obedience of
the entire ward or room without the resort
even to a sarcasm. but such teachers are
more rare than diamonds ANY teacher
who passes rs success can control with
perfect ease his room or yard nineteen
days in twenty without the slightest chatting
and from Il larger proportion of the boys
he has prompt obedience; but there come
hours and circumstances in which some
child among the many refuses To come i'll
to line with the discipline of the school.
and then one of two things must happen.
either the teacher must be the master of
the situation. or his influence in the school
is permanently impaired, II can do the
child no possible good to become victo-
rious on the contrary if he conqucrs the
teacher he is morally sure 10 be himself
ruined it can do the school no good, but
contrarIwisc it will be set back again many
months il it witnesses Il teacher mastered
by a pupil; il can do society no good. for
the curse of society is the ease with which
criminals evade law and defy its officers.
When the will of the pupil rebclliously
clashes with the authority of the teacher,
| the teacher must be the master of the sit
uation. Better a thousand fold for him to
do it without physical force; but do it he
must. even though he vigorously handles
the offender. When human nature chan
gcs; when there is no more need of law
when the policeman becomes supcriluity
when parents cease to he troubled by the
dsobedience of their children-then we
will hope to see our children trained in
large schools without resort 10 the rod.
SO long rs punishment remains necessity
in some form. however. let il he honestly
administered by the rod. and not with sar-
casm or ridicule, or other methods inf
nitely more debasing in their final results
than a wholesome and judicious applica-
| ton of the rattan Boston Trurciicr.