Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-24
Spare the Rod?

victims Of the battered child
syndrome?" II so, are we
attempting to create a new
source Of supply by permit
ting teachers to join in the
battering?
If you think humaneness Is
served by limiting the imple-
ment to a hand or a one-foot
ruler. place your thumb. with
the nail up, on the edge Of a
table; then strike the nail as
hard as you can with the
back edge Of the ruler. Or
have someone whack the
palm Of your hand reason
ably hard with the flat of the
ruler-a few hundred times.
You will soon appear to be
wearing a catcher's mitt, deep
red in color. Permitting the
blows to be delivered to the
hand "or other portions Of
the body, excluding the head"
does not limit the punishment
to the obvious seat Of the
pants. Boxers have lost bouts
for striking "other parts of
the body" and the bastinado,
too, is q recognized oriental
torture.
This all seems to be In line
with replacing streetcars with
buses because there Is too
much smog. Or making the
first three characters on an
auto license letters because
they're easier to remember,
while removing the letters
from telephone exchanges be-
cause numbers are no harder
to recall. ...
Someone once wrote "a
Short History of Human
Stupidity" in "a volumes,
folio. From people I see Gin
GLIDING myself 1t must have
been a digest.
Robert L. Eichberg.
-
According to your editorial
Of March Is, in just one week
In the District five Junior
high school students were ar
rested for using razor blades
in a schoolyard fight, involv-
ing a shakedown threat
against a younger boy; a To-
year old ninth grader
stabbed a student, bone-deep,
in the arm; another student
defied his teacher and re-
fused to let her enter a
classroom. II this is the rec
ord for one week, what must
have been the past record for
one semester?
Regardless Of the causes
for this continued lawless-
ness, 1t is time that the Of
tenders are weeded out Of
the schools completely so
that those who want to learn
can do so without such dis
turbances. Perhaps one or
two floggings Of these young
ruffians would set an ex-
ample for them-the example
Of discipline they do not find
at home.
L. c. Hieber.
A recent letter indicts DR..
Hansen for "racism" in re-
CARDS to DR.. Hansen's request
for permissive corporal pun
ishment in the schools. The
writer apparently is not aware
that corporal punishment in
the schools was not invented
along with integrated schools.
but was practiced long before
the Negro was brought to this
country. For a still longer
time the fright OF self
defense" has been an accepted
legal doctrine. To deny dedi-
Gated teachers this right is
In effect TO deny them their
civil rights" To deny a
peaceful classroom atmos-
phere TO those students in
terested in obtaining the best
education is TO prevent the
majority Of Negro students
the very thing they sought
In integrated classes.
The letter also cites the
old theory OF cause and effect
lack Of opportunity as the
cause having the effect Of
criminal conduct. The writer
reasons that we should ignore
the criminal conduct and go
after the cause. This is like
saying the rapist will be ex-
cused until we can provide
for him as he might wish. I
believe any fireman can tell
us the first Job is 10 put the
fire out and then 10 eliminate
the fire hazards. How many
generations OF crime does the
writer wish 10 excuse before
better days. by his definition.
are here2 There is and al
ways will be certain elements
OF every race who respect
force and only force. The
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