The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-11-13
Spare What
And Why?
JOSEPH BRETC-

WMEY
Spare the rod and spoil the child" said Mr.. Elk,
1T depends" said Mister Zee.
Depends your grandmother. Depends on What?"
ION the meanings of words, for one thing
Mister Elk bristled. "You can understand English
can't your"
it all depends"
1T ought to be clear enough. Spare the rod and
spoil the child"
"A1I right" said Mister Zee. Lets see how plain
it is. What does the word rod mean?
THAT'S EASY" said Exx. 1T means paddle. Or
Switch. Or a swat on the bottom. Punishment. That's
what it means
81 see" said Zee. "And what does child mean?"
Mister Elk opened his mouth, then closed it.
Mister Zee smiled. "Thats not so easy, eh?"
Exx rallied. Easy enough, J" he asserted. "A child
is a minor"
$50 what's a MINOR"
"Well-" Exx hesitated. Then be plunged in. "A
minor is somebody under Il years of age"
$50 A COLLEGE student is a child?" inquired
Zee. And a 20-year-old soldier is a child?'
Exx opened and shut his mouth again. Then he
said, "All right. | take it back. A child is" He stop
ped.
Like | said" remarked Zee, "it depends. Is an
eight-year-old a child? A 1O-yearold? A 12-yearold?
Why, we've got 12year olds in high school. We've got
chess champions that age. And accomplished musi-
clans. Mathematician, even. We've got 12year-old
saints and martyrs
"AH right. all right interrupted Exx. $50 it de-
ponds on what is meant by the word child All the
same, whatever a child is, spare the rod and you spoil
him or her.
lat ANOTHER thing" said Zee. "Can you
imagine yourself taking a stick to a 14-year-old girl?"
well, no." admitted Xxx. :" that's pretty silly"
so maybe the word rod doesn't necessarily
mean paddle or switch"
what else can it mean?" argued Exx.
Maybe said Mister Zee quietly, lit means in
centive. encouragement, direction, supervision. Like
straight AS for good performance or lessons? Like
praise for accomplishment? Like pointing out new
heights to be climbed-and giving the kid a boost up?"
We'll" said Mister Elk, maybe so. | never
thought of it that way"
MAYBE ROD means responsibility, too" said
Zee. Maybe it means showing a child how to be self
reliant, egging him on to use his head, reasoning with
him. Giving him a good pride in achievement, opening
his eyes to the talents and opportunities he has been
given? En-"
go on" said Exx. you've got the floor. It's your
mouth that's working"
MAYBE Sparing the rod would be like not telling
a ~youngSter about God. and what a wonderful thing 1t
is to have the Creator create you, and how your Maker
expects you to measure up, and all that? It's a pretty
good rod if you get that sort of thing into a childs
head, isn't it?
"oKAY," said Mr.. Elk. "TI buy. Maybe when the
Scripture says rod, 1t means a lot more than most
people ever stop to think it does"
lone more thing" said Zee. "How often do you
think any parents takes a stick to a child AFTER giving
the matter a good think, and without being even the
finest bit just plain sore?"
well. ves-there's that" conceded Elk.
Mind, said Zee. "Im not saying there's never
a time when a lick or two might be necessary. I'm
just saying that parents ought to remember those
signs they see in offices"
what signs" inquired Exx,
"The ones that say Think"