The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-26
PUNISHMENT
SCHOOL.
CORPOR

SCHOOL.
A number of teachers in New York
have started a movement to restore
corporal punishment to the public
school system of that city. They wish
the Board of Education to adopt rule
as follows: That any pupil who. upon
trial by the proper authorities.
is adjudged unamendable to the
prevailing method of discipline,
shall thereafter be deemed SUBJ
ject to corporal punishment, to be
administered by the principal or by
some teacher designated by him." 1t
is claimed that moral suasion is a fail
ure, as applied to many of the chill
dren, especially boys; that the children
take advantage of the fact of their
immunity from fogging and not only
practice bad habits themselves but
teach them to other children. The
Tribune in a recent issue printed near
~ a page of matter on the subject,
showing that, in the opinion of many
teachers and outside observers as we'll,
corporal punishment, carefully guarded
and judiciously administered, would
tend to improve the morale of some
of the New York schools.
1t is undoubtedly true that a great
many tough" boys find their way
into the public schools and make the
lives of the teachers more or less
burden. Such boys are to be found in
all cities. They are not peculiar to
New York Nor are they peculiar to
what may be called for convenience a
lower social element. Some of the
very toughest, most obstreperous and
exasperating youngsters come from
well-to-do families, and live in homes
that should be the abiding places of
gentleness and refinement, because of
the superior advantages they afford.
And yet from such homes there FREE
quently go out children who are ILL
hammered. selfish, aggravating and
often mean. Is not the fault within
the household? If such characteristics
are inbred by over-indulgent, thought
less or careless parents, can they be
corrected at the school by "judicious"
AAOS6AAAS tAllO Nllcll dClSI IL
formed in the home; the school is mere
ly an aid in the formation.
A teacher of experience and success
in this city was asked, What is your
chief objection to corporal punishment
in the schools?" The reply was, Be
cause it doesn't do any good. 1 have
never known of a child being broken
of a bad habit or induced to greater
diligence and success in studying by
being whipped at school," This teach
er admitted that there were some boys
who had no respect for any authority
that was not based on fear. and that
it was probably necessary that bodily
punishment should be inflicted in such
cases, but the opinion was maintained
that the boys parents, and not the
teacher, should do the whipping. The
difficulty about that plan is that most
parents of bad boys are either indiffer-
ent or encourage the boy in his way
wardness. A certain mother in this
city was informed by teacher that
her son, Willie, had been detected in
lying. stealing, smoking cigarettes and
gambling, and not only that, but he
had been caught teaching smaller chill
dren these vices. He ought to be
whipped since he cannot be persuad-
ed" said the teacher What! Whip
my Willie!" exclaimed the mother; mot
while l am alive. l never punished
him, and if anybody else does, it will
be across my dead body" Where
does Willie go of evenings?" asked the
teacher. "Oh, he plays on the streets
with a gang of boys, and sometimes
doesn't come in until or 10 o'clock"
The proper discipline of children is
great question, one whose solution
has not been arrived at in thousands
of years except in Individual cases;
and in all probability it will continue
to be unsolved as a whole for a very
great while to come. The father and
the mother must take it upon them
selves to inculcate the virtues in their
children, and they must determine upon
their own best methods. 1t will not do
to depend upon the schools for every
thing the child Is to know.