The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-13
SPANKING IN THIS SCHOOL.
Old New England Teacher Who Let
His Pupils Vote on Punishment
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
do L believe in spanking children?" an
old teacher in New York repeated as he re-
fected over the question. 81 do not wish 10
be quoted af1rms lively, but your query re-
calls a system which one of the early peda-
gogues adopted when 1 was one of his
pupils.
Il have often wished that Dickens could
have known the man who taught me my
a b abs. Whenever 1 see Henry Irving
walk across the stage / recall the gait of
that New England man who was regarded
with fear and veneration in the village
where he taught.
His schoolroom was under the roof of
his home. All outline map hung upon the
wall. and on the table behind which he sat
when he was not in motion was an appa-
ratus with which he demonstrated to the
class in national philosophy. The majority
of the school,, however, knew about as
much of that study as the natives in our
far Eastern possessions know.
He was easily frustrated, and / may add,
he was frequently in a perturbed condition.
When he was interrupted in his lecture he
called out the recalcitrant who was the
occasion OF the interruption and quizzed him
with severity.
lie always gave the boy a chance to
justify himself, but If the boy failed. as was
apt TO be the case, he left IL TO the other
pupils TO say whether the boy should be
punished. In other words, he polled the
school. He called the roll and voted the
ayes and noes.
'If the ayes had it, the old ~pedagogue
then submitted the question as TO what
the punishment should be. AS he called
each boys name he asked. How shall
Master -- be punished, by switch on the
lack, spanking or by the ferule on the
hand?'.
when he footed UP the count. he ap-
pointed a mentor to keep tab on the school
while he led the pupil out of the schoolroom
into the dining room OF the house. and
istered the punishment voted. the pedagogue
remaining I'm the room while the chastise-
! ment was administered
IF this mode of procedure had occurred
but once a day il would have not retarded
the course OF study. but as it was quite
frequent. the wonder was that we ever
made any progress. | think most of the
time was taken up in calling the roll of the
school on the two propositions.
1T rarely happened that a boy escaped.
1t was the opportunity of the other pupils
to get even.
1T kept up a continuous feud. as you
can readily see. for the boy upon whom
punishment was voted naturally voted for
any other boy who was arraigned 20 get
the severest punishment i'm the category.
This led TO frequent fights after school
strangely enough, as II now seems 20
me. our parents approved of this system
Of punishment. 1 never knew OF but one
father who questioned the pedagogue,
and the latter's explanation was Sc satisfac-
tory that the complaining father ac-
quiesced.
The pedagogue said that he handed
the pupil over TO his wife because he did not
believe in whipping a child when ne was
laboring under excitement. The chastise.
ment by his better half. he said. was not
actuated by any personal feeling.
perhaps not. Poor woman! When she
died the only one 10 mourn her loss was
her husband. L remember how. on the day
of her funeral. We had a holiday. aud thai
we hanged her in ef.gy down by the Old
! swimming hole