The New York herald., 1922-09-24
The Headmaster Of a New
York School for Boys De-
scribes His Impressions Of
Some Parents in Their
Dealings With Their Sons
BY A HEADMASTER.

~ youngest of three sons to come
\ to his study, which was at the
top of the stairs. When word reached
the three, play stopped at once. The
offense had been committed the day
before, but this was the first time
father could tend to it. The culprit
climbed silently upstairs. There was
no defense and the punishment was
to be met The crime had been decep-
tion. The two brothers hung around
at the foot of the stairs Apparently
there was a talk in progress. Yes,
that sounded like the application of
the torture. But why did not the
study door open now? Evidently there
was more talk. At last the door did
open and the boy came out What
about it?" called up the brothers.
Father and / are friends" was the
reply.
Son-father-slipper
Alas! Why is it always so funny,
this stern educational duty which
father must perform? The cartoonist
will never cease to delight in repre-
senting to us those early, tragic, un-
dignified moments of life. They were
great experiences. / remember, once, a
group of youngsters. sitting on the
floor Of the locker room. They had
got to the shoes and stockings stage
and were talking quite freely in my.
their schoolmaster's presence. MY
father uses belt" "A slippers worse.
Wow! but it hurts" 1t seemed that
the more severe had been the ordeal
The greater was the boast. Some
there were in the crowd who could not
thus boast. They could laugh, but
rather envied the initiated. For did
not the common experience of the
others make them into brotherhood
which excluded all the rest?
Here is a point overlooked in hands
across the sea propaganda At the
Lext international rally of Boy Scouts
let scouts from each country relate
some of their early experiences with
father and you will plant mighty
seed for the Entente Cordiale. Such
parental experiences are not peculiar
IT, one nation
1t is quite natural that in thinking
or fathers relation to education one
should think first of papa's way of
making the theory Of his authority
into fact. And yet it is not often that
nc who has the humliating part in
those early interviews holds a grudge
in later years against the party of the
first part.
!, Lickings and floggings-there's a
difference--are now banished from
American schools. as far as / know.
The thousands of pupils about to float
into the country's schoolrooms are
secure in the confidence that to save
them from being spoiled other means
than the rod or switch. must be sought.
Only in some homes and yet in thou
sands, does the slipper, no longer the
switch, exist as a disciplinary institu-
ton
Fortunately, only in few instances
does the schoolmaster have to call in
father for his disciplinary cooperation.
Not infrequently father Is less of a
disciplinarian than mother. The re-
fractory pupil is the exception in a
good, school If refractoriness is gen.
eral in a classeit will be found that the
schoolmaster. who is the head of school
authority. or the class teacher, Is a
square peg. and an iron peg at that,
which requires recasting to be made to
fit. They may practice fiogging still in
England. / must admit that now and
then there comes along a boy, good
enough fellow generally speaking. who
I'm some situations is such an ass that
the only way to make him take an OBJ
jective view of his conduct is to stimu-
late his circulation. As l say, maybe
they still do IL in England. But public
opinion will have none of IL in Ameri-
can schools, and If father wants 1t for
his boy, it's up to him.
II Is more pleasant to meet fathers
on other grounds than those of con-
duct enforcement. Mothers schedule
IS such that she is more often free to
drop in and see how son is faring than
is father, so the latter is more apt to
send in his opinions by letter. When
these are favorable, teaching Is stimu-
lated and the letter filed. When they
are adverse, well, they arc politely an
swered. but, not so carefully fled ]
have letter from a father spontane-
ously written. expressing the parents
pride in the report of sons work for
the week. This father supervises his
sons application to home work. He
does not teach the boy, but gets near
enough to the work in hand to see IL
the lad Is falling into error through
inaccuracy or lack of understanding.
"If the example is copied wrong says
the father Il close the book with a
resigned air. And Bob knows what
that means" In other ways he makes
his boy find his own mistakes. When
the weeks report is a good one there
fs a celebration. When II Is bad. sons
capacity being known. the occasion is
one of boredom and outspoken COM
miseration for his teachers. This is
good home cooperation 1t is better
than money rewards for good marks.
Don't give monetary rewards for
grades at school. II is poor coopera-
ton. 1t Is demoralizing. It scents too
much of bonus for duty done.
The father who can help most is he
who can be a true companion to his
son-who knows how to rough and
tumble with him. who is not bored to
death when the lad asks him why a
hen crosses the road who has sense
enough to give 1t up. | once met on
ea ocean liner father of youngster
ne. IT was delightful to see these
two play together. One of their games
was mock fight. the father sitting on