The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-05-10
THAT SCHOOL AFFAIR.
supe rintendent whitaker Plunges Deep
Into Printers Ink

you have tried to convince the public that
some Of our school rooms have been used
as prisons and lockups for the punishment
Of pupils. 1t will be only fair on your
part to give me space in your paper to set
our teachers and myself right before the
public. will give a plain statement Of
facts from which any intelligent person
may judge of the merits and faults OF
those concerned in the affair.
A few weeks ago DR. Fetzer found his
boy with two others locked in one OF the
school buildings during the dinner inter
mission, and growing very angry about it
he went to the teacher and demanded that
the boy should be let out. The teacher
attempted to explain the case but he re-
fused TO listen, remarkinR that he did not
| want an explanation but wanted his boy,
| He went away angry. The teacher re-
ported the case to me next day. In day
/ or two after this DIR. Fetzer called me as
| was about to enter the building in which
| the occurrence had taken place. He was
rather angry and eNcitedly demanded
| from me whether it was right for the
| teacher to lock pupils in her school during
the whole dinner hour ! said it was not
| and remarked that the janitOr had locked
| the building. He then asked whether
| janitors are paid to take care Of children.
| ] answered, They are not. But the
| teacher did not know that the boys were
| locked in until you went for your boy.
| He would not reason about the matter
| and maintained that the teacher, was
| wrong, and had done 1t Intentionally. He
| then asked again if IL was right for the
| teacher to lock his boy in for an hour and
! "A quarter | said, "Of course such thing
| SOulu not be right" Finding that he
and the teacher differed, | said to him
| Come in and we will see the teacher
about it, NO" he replied, 81 am too
angry to 20 in ] told him he had no
right to get so angry, that he could not
listen to reason. Then | said, well
! / will 20 in and talk to the
teacher about it and you come
him since Two days later quite
sensational report of the occurrence APP
peared in the HERALD. The report de-
clared that teacher had resorted to inn
prisonment as a means OF punishment, by
locking three boys in the school room
during the dinner intermission; and that
other teachers had resorted to the same
means of punishment. The report In con-
clusion pointed OF that scores OF danger
GUS posi- bilties" might arise from this
practice "such as the breaking out of
fires"
In the discharge of my duties l felt
compelled to investigate the whole mat
ter, 80 that | could correct an abuse, il |
found it; and il not, that | could protect
the teachers and the schools from unjust
and unfair criticisms | reported the re-
suits of my investigation to the School
Board. My report concluded as follows :
"None of our teachers have resOrted to
such means of punishment. On or about
April 10th, teacher had occasion to
punish three boys. The punishment APP
piled was that they should remain in
school after the morning session and
write 100 words After the school had
been dismissed the teacher reduced the
number of words to so and went to dim
ner after telling the boys to hurry and
complete their work and go home. The
boys disobeyed her instructions and
remained in until the lanitor
3 had locked the building. With this
; little occurrence as a basis the HER
AIDS sensational item was worked up. 1t
: is very unjust and unfair to our teachers
? and our schools to have little incidents
| charges and spread out before the general
: public through the press. Whatever may
have been the motive back of this attack,
the attack itself is so manitestly unjust
and unfounded that it deserves to be con
demned"
: The HERALD published my report on
7 May Sd, and the next day, "A communica
r tiun purpOrting 70 he trHm DE. tetZer
( The communication was so sJuulously
D discourteous that had to conclude that
it was intended to be insulting. | paid nc
| attention to il, because such things dc
= have since learned that DR.. Fetzer denies
y | that he has shown any disCOurtesy or in
tended to be offensive. He says that the
reporter of the HERALD interviewed hin
= and that the form and language OF the
. ! communication belongs entirely to the
: reporter 1t appears from this that the
reporter got information from Dr. FetzeI
and put it in form and language to suit
9 his own purposes. Aside from the mex
{ cusable breach OF common courtesy, II
was rather an INSCRIPTIONS way to at
, tempt to convict me Of 'partiality,
"whitewashing, etc.
To sum up. In regard to the first charge
the HERALD'S case rests entirely on DR.
d Fetzer's statement that his boy, (who i
4 about years old, told him that thu
, teacher left him in the room and tOlC
IS him to remain there until she returned.
r To sustain the second charge you hav
n adduCed nothing. You simply state tina
e children have been locked in and that
1t can have the names if / want them.
My report was based on statement
from the teachers, some of whom | con
suited individually, and all were con
suited in "A body, at our institute meeting
n reported according to my firm conviC
Us tiOns. When | pause to consider, can
je not understand why the HERALD and DI
y FetZer should be so much exercise
ar not be from anxiety for the safet
n of the children. If it is thea the
in must be laboring under serious mis-
apprehensions. For many years pas
IL has been customary to allow pupils VIII
3, live considerable distance from tn
s, schools to remain in the buildings durin
the dinner hour to eat their dinners. Th
custom is SO old now, that nobody ha
thought of any dangeT-nOt even tn
n HERALD. The fact is that dangers in Jht
y. respect are reduced to the minimum, b,
IF cause, first there are no more stoves in tn
T. buildings and, second, it is very ran
instance that a building is locked duriu
the dinner intermissiOn for more than
half hour without a teacher or ianitC
being in or about it. 1t takes a very vivi
ne Imagination TO conjure up 'scores
is dangerous possibilities, such rs breakin
a. out of a fire. The HERALD attempted "t
make mountain out Of mole hill" N
parents have complained, to my know
edge, on account Of their children bein
is locked in the buildings.
wv In conclusion, / would like to remar
that the HERALD Is not pursuing a frien,
" course toward our schools by constitl
in ting itself depository for the receptio