Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1908-03-04
SHALL BAD BOYS BE PADDLED7


will agree on the question Of corporal
punishment. Bad children are, usually,
the product of defective home training.
In ninety.nine cases in hundred, the
bad boy az school il bad boy AZ home.
And the parent who spares the rod him.
self will not look kindly upon its use
by the exasperated teacher. Even the
parent who uses the paddle himself
not always wisely, buy, perhaps, too
wells inclined to regard the child as
his own property, and feels tnat his
property rights are infringed upon
when another person trounces his I'm.
regenerate offspring.
But what are the schools TO do with
the incorrigiblcsl The New York
| board of education will hold a special
meeting, March 4, to answer the ques.
| ton, "To spank or not to spanki'
| and, IL 50. when, and how! A set of
| questions bearing on the subject was
| recently submitted TO four hundred
and seventy superintendents and prin.
cipals Of New York city. With these
expressions of opinion in nand, spe.
cial committee has made "a report.
which, in part, reads as follows:
This committee is of the opinion that
corporal punishment should be permit.
Il tod in u.hnnla ,,,
under strict regulations, and that it
should be administered by the principal
with the written consent Of the par.
ents or else by n parent in the pres
ence Of the principal. Where parents
refuse 90 punish "a child themselves In
the presence of the principal We be-
lievs that the principal should at once
report such child TO the city superin.
tendent for suspension, and when sus.
pended the child should be sent to a
truant school or school for incor.
rigibles. This committee believes that
the knowledge on the part Of tne pu-
pills that there is punishment provided
for persistent disorderly conduct will
to great degree prevent the necessity
Tor its use. This committee also
recommends that the board of super.
intendents he requested 10 recommend
ut once TO the board of education a
revision Of the course Of study in ethics
40 as to place more emphasis on the
respect due from children to parents,
| teachers and others Of authority.
But there remains the proper
method of applying the paddle
or should II be stout switchf
In Portland, Ore, the prosecution of
a school principal, by the parent Of
boy he had punished, moves the ore.
gonian to say:
III boys must be logged, the paddle
seems to be an almost divinely ap.
pointed implement 20 do il with. That
area Of the body which It most APPLY
hts IL not very susceptible to mortal
wounds; II has merely a sufiiciency Of
nerves to unlock penitential tears by
their tingling when temporarily flag.
ellated; and the bones whica il con
tsiDs are so abundantly swathed about
with muscular tissue that there is no
danger Of breaking them. 1t is fash.
ionable In these degenerate days TO
deny the hand Of Providence in arrang.
fl. aHatxs 81 n. IN
there IL one piece Of evidence more
convincing that another that the Al.
mighty actually did 1T this and taat
together and adapt one thing to an.
other IN our mundane sphere, IL il the
perfect adoption Of this portion of a
boys body to receive impulsive stim.
ulation from a paddle.
Perhaps OUT acute contemporary was
brought mp that way, and speaks with
knowledge Of the regenerating infiu-
enee of the paddle, when applied to
the portion of the anatomy sa well de.
scribed. But empirical knowledge often
is misleading. The ways Of our fathers
were not always the best ways. Al.
though il is swsthed so comfortably
and providentially with muscular it's
sue, the particular area of the body
To which reference is thus deIicately
made is not a safe place to apply even
the household slipper, not to mention
the ruder implement, yclept the "pad.
de- Na,ure-or Providence---put the
protecting tissues in this particular
place fog the very reason that its con.
tiguity 10 the base Of the spine requires
1t for protection from injury. Paddle,
II you must, pedagogue, but don 7 pad
die there.--l.os Angeles News.