The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-12-01
THE LAW OF CORPORAL PUN
ISIIHENT.
An Interesting and Instructive
Paper Read Before the Teach
crs ct Their Last Meeting by
Prof. II. l.. Scaife.

In certain European countries. as well
as in some Of our own States, II Strictious
have been placed on corporal punish
ment, but generally it is looked upon as
Il necessary evil and lett To the discretion
of the teacher. In Norway it is allow
ed Ouly after consultation with the
school authorities, and i'll the presence
of one of them !; in Denmark, four
strokes with the ruler is the limit pre-
scribed by law; in Germany, though not
prohibited, it is seldom employed, tor
extreme cases are met and dealt with by
the civil authorities.
In the common flaw OF England
which is part of the law OF our own
country, the teacher stands in loco pa
RENTS, and has the light To intlict cor
poral punishment Ill the maintenance
of discipline aud il compelling OBJ
dience to lawful regulations; Blackstone
cites a case where The SchoOlmaster
s anptd on the pupils stomach SO that
th4 sufferer died. and the law led that
he was guilty of murder. But in a late
case in England it was decided that
where schoolmaster Obtained the pa
rents consent to beat Il boy severely to
subdue alleged obStinacy, and the teach
er sc cretly, in the night, beat the boy
with Il stick two hours and half until
the pupil died, the teacher was only
guilty of manSiaughter, no malice bainl
proved. This was the celebrated Hop
ley case, in which the defendant was
sentenced to four years penal servitude
In this country leading cases on the
subject are found in the decisions of Il @
courts of appeal in the various States.
The principles laid down ara that the
teacher must not be actuated by malice,
that he must be governed by the nature
Of the otfen.e and the age, siZ and en-
durance Of the pupil. The pupil is en-
titled to know for what definite offense
he is being punished, aud the rules in
fracted must be reasonable. 1t has been
held that pupil voluntarily attending
school after his majority is under The
same restrictions and liabilities as ii
within the school age.
In inflicting corporal punishment the
law presumes that the teacher has acted
correctly, and to rebut the charge of
malice he may show that the instrum aut
used was similar to that usually en-
ployed in the vicinity. In Iowa it has
been held th 1t any punishment with the
rod that leaves marks or weitS on the
person for two IN ,nih5 or even less time,
is lmmoderate AMI excessive, Will. in
North Carolina it wlS decided that rs Il
general rule teachers exceed the limit
of their authority WHEN they cause last
ing mischief, but act within il when
they cause Only temp ,rary ptin.
In New Jer3 corporal punishment is
forbidden by Statute, AMI the laws Of
Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, NJ )ntana,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, WaShin =
ton and West Virgiaii prescribe spa
ciic penalty for excess amounting to
cruelty. LII the other States brutal
teacher wou'd b, puishet under an in
dictment for a5Sau,J aud battery.
Experience teaches TIL 1t the fewer
the rules for the school the better and
when the teacher is not hump 1red by
them, fie Cin, OH the spur uf the mo-
ment, f1nd s)me means OF punishment
without resorting to the severer meth
DDS; for instance, in graded school, an
| oostreperous pupil in u higher class, who
cannot be subdued by kindness might be
| made to recite with u lower grade, and
| for continuous misconduct he could be
sent on down even until he reaches tn ,
kindergarten class, and if he has not
| pride and manhood enough to retrieve
himself, then the best thing to do would
be to send him home. However, one
day Is apt to prove the method effective
and he returns a more sober if not a
better man.
Individual desks, by removiny temp
tation, are OF inestimable worth to the
discipline of school.
A hearty laugh several times day is
a neceSsity-it is the safety valve which
lets off what an inexperienced teacher
will attempt to keep pent up. 1t is a
weapon which the teacher may some-
times use even in crisis and it gives
the minds Of the pupils divertment
Which will enable them to resume theil