The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-11-04
Docs IL Spoil the ohild2

The Boston Sunday Globe has con-
ferred a general favor by publishing
symposium which, If it does nothing
else, gives information ON the real origin
of that lying old saw, "Spare the rod
and spoil the child" Mr., John Knee
land, a scholarly member of the Boston
school board, says it appears in line
from Hudibras, Most people think it is
in the Bible,
1t is encouraging to find that none of
the writers who contribute to the col
lection is in favor of whipping children
as a punishment. All of them except
one are members of the Boston school
board, and this one is Mr.. Edwin p.
Seaver, superintendent of the public
schools there. Mr.. Seaver tells us that
it is within the memory of living per-
sons when school regulations began to
be promulgated forbidding the whip
ping of girls. Before that it was by no
means uncommon to see girl Of mar
riageable age receive corporal punish
ment at the hands of man not many
years older than herself. If girls have
not been spoiled since the practice Of
switching them in school was abandoned,
then perhaps boys would not be either.
Mr.. r. g. Metcalf speaks of the incor-
rigible boys who are too often got rid of
by dismissing them from the schools and
letting them run the street, whence in
time they graduate finished criminals.
They should not be dismissed. They
should be put in a school to themselves,
where the wisest, strongest and most
experienced teachers will have the task
of retaining them and making men of
them This suggestion ought to be put
into practice in all cities In school
by themselves such boys could not cor
rupt other pupils, and they would be
forced to behave themselves. If these
boys were taken out of the general pub
lie school for its own well being and
theirs, then in the Judgment of Mr..
Metcalf corporal punishment might be
abolished at once.
Mrs. Louisa P. Hopkins, another mem
Der of the board, calls attention to one
| significant fact. In the schools where
foreign children are taught English by
the speaking and object lesson method
there is never any need of whipping. The
| children are so interested in their lessons
! that they do not think of misbehaving
In the manual training departments the
same is true. Children who are occu-
| pied with productive work which inter
ests them and develops their faculties
have no temptation to mischief, and the
relations between teacher and pupil are
so natural and sympathetic that DISC
| bedience is unthought Of" Here is a
volume in one sentence. If the course
of study is such as to interest the pupil,
then the pupil is never unruly. Give the
worst boy in city something to do that
he likes as we'll as mischief, and he will
become gentle and tractable, This is
I tiiO tCli iACc, anu tilC u uC lICet
of education. Mr.. Seaver says, ''In the
Kindergarten the rod is never used, and
never will be so long as teachers are
faithful to the doctrine of their great
leader, Froebel.'
The right way seems to be to let the
children understand that the rod can be
used when necessary, and then never
use it. The right kind of teacher can
l find methods of punishment that are
| oetter than the brutalizing process Of
whipping. She can gradually SO inter
est her pupils minds that no punish
ment at all will be necessary. Whether
parents can bring up their children with
! out whipping depends on the amount Of
brains and intelligence possessed by the
parents. The more brains, the less
| whipping; plenty of brains, then none
at all.