NOTES ON EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 461, 20 March 1909, Page 15

NOTES ON EDUCATION.

,(B? Socrates.)

/ A CORPORAL PUNISHMENT CASE. V r '■: AT PALMEESTON NORTH. During tho 'last"few .weeks/the- calm of Palmers tori.' North has .been an eruption ot: local feeling .over what, is; known : ,#s- ( th'o; "Renriie caye. 1 ' Inundations of-cor-respondents' ink. have. flpwed ..over, tlw ..subject, and such', of the epistles, os have fmind thoir way into print reveal the fact that public-feeling still -running very high. The facts of the-case, stated generally, are as' follow ; . ;. ; A' ; boy 'named Rennio, a' pupil attending College. Street School, Palmerston North, was caned, first on the hands, and then. on the body, by a relieving teacher, Mr. Watts. The: boy's mother subsequently brought an action/against ; the teacher, alleging excessive' piinishmeinfc )and\ maltreatment, and ]ostj-' :the iMafeistrate Mismisaing ' the : case, Withcists; ' without calling v evidence from tho- defendant.' 1 The local on the other hasd,, practically" gave, editorially speaking, judgment for tho prosecutrix, hinting)'. that', considerable' dissatisfaction existed ■regai'id/to _ the ..methods ,of, administering- punishment inithe .school, -and.-that ' ari; inquiry concerning r.the.samei would_be,j : in tho ,best interests of the community. The incident''has "thnr'beenSnagnified'until'it'has' become/a public'controversy. / These, are the essentials of the case. There are,- of course, ' - sidei issues—so many side, issues, m fact, '•<• has. become, somewhat obscured; , To be perfectly plain, some of Jthe?-disputants'soem ■ to'have lost their senso of- proportion, to judge from ■ the. published - Contributions'" to the controversy,. a .condition of things ■'ivhichi; in a. sense, makes / Sit? somowhat difficult to view., the-case in its proper / perspective) and so render simple justice,'.where merited. ,' i

The Case for the Teacher. , 1 . ) Whether ; the -punishment'"inflicted by Mr.' Watts fon .; tjjfe .bov ■ lleririib., was' :.of. such a nature-as could, b'e said ,tp justify aii action, . fori.assault, ■<-is .a , question .which , can. be answered without'reference ,to ,the actual circumstances which lied up to the pumsliment./.lt is well that it; should he answered, i once , and for all, if' an 'end is to be put to ■ such episodes' as tho case under I review. No schbol ; ;offeuce.,. -Jwjvevfir..grflv.e,,...can. justify tho infliction, by any teacher, of such corporal'punishment as may be proved to have' been? charactcrised :< sby" elements ; of brutality.; Inva.ipublished letter,, Mrs. Ren- /.■ nie/ alleges . • " • "l.'That her son received four , puts on tho ,hand, with a strap; . y , 2., That ho was suddenly seized by . , the:collar, swung Toundjoff his feet,, and flogged .as: he went'round) his bare^feet striking the desk aud being injured, j / ■ . , -;3wThat''h'9^was figain '.seized, .again. . f 6W ujl: round', the room', and I more blows. , given\.on: the. sanie ; bruised 'legs /arid...! v. thigh's. ■.v ' ' V 4.-That the boy'B shirt was torn, tho ■button-hole .was out of his collar, and . the'tneck of liis. coat 'was torn. '. V V'lt , will, generally bo : agreed, that punishment, :J of''the'nature hasybMn';described', , ifiactually administered,'; cannot''be ov'er- • lMlredj'. iid,matter , what [the , provocation may ' havei; .been.' ,;--If/.these, statomeiitsyby. Mrs.' Itennio£;-.tf ere:-"given ; inf.; evidence;, in' Court, ■ the'defendant should; rin justice ;to-himself, have'ibeen iexamifiedj ' or even cross-'eiamih'id. But'i'- as/ is wa3 even "called , upon, 'and' r brio"' wbridcrs' why.' . Mrs. . Ronnie's statements '• allege a veryt severe rpunishmeritpattd,"if they wcre~'.'£Sig-" geratedy 'it- is regrettable l that the extent of exaggeration has > not been shown. " The case.i.wa's > simply dismissed, with costs ■ against.,, very ircqmrfiSSfsoifle tioh.v/,Clearly, .tihosb 'yjjot presscd','for'mt-Jiil'QfeJ' iftto- n of idiintaining discipline; at '.the 1 ' College §treot ; Sdh<&l ~bfi r justified 1 iii "their; actiqn,. . V Tho EthjcsiofCorporal Punlshmoni. , There-exists,- amongvawparticular section, alisentimental objection to . the. administra- ;. tibri 1 of corporal ; -puriishment':'in ; schools. }\*ith 4hat 1 entirely disagr.ee. The administration -of corporal punishment is,, in prinjiple/ 'one of the.- fundamentals ;of - a sound and , healthy. discipline 'in " schools. Experience, has/ afforded abundant proofs of • -thfi-fact'that,, wh.ero , the discipline of the borne ,is- lax, the task.'of the 'teacher becoriies; correspondingly greater. ,Strange a 3' it, may appear,;<;in schools,,;where' ...d.isciplipe of the' yei'y,:best typejis^mairitairiecl,..,corporal, pun-' ishmeitt.'is rare, and, by reason of its infrequeiicy, corresporidingty; effective; A .teacher who- finds it necessary, to resort' frequently toj.'this;.way-of"'maintijining order*inay, 'with ipod " reason,' ask ' hiritself '• .whether', his disis not actually weak.' In this connection,'tho Rey. ; ,C.v.Colericlge. Ha.rper';s contribution to the JPalm'erstpn controversy is irorth' quoting. .i He wrote:— - •• f 'i' am .one : of-those, who think that corporal punishment the right'time; arid adminis- : right way, is a'good thing! I should;like to see it,administered to certain classes'/ of crimirialo'more '"frequently. /;';But I 'ihaye'-'always felt, that-'(the method • adopted, iii .our.State schools is ridiculbus, ineffectual, arid;'if; anything, brutalisirig. I was edu-, catcd at Christ's College in Christchurch, and,'' --a,leaning was a most serious ... aud solemn affair,'/all, the more so, because .of its comparfithe'rarity. If a'boy >was'unusually in- , subordinate he was 'reported' to the headmaster ; and if .the case warranted it he was carted; > This-was "doire" after "school,"in" cold' blood, by .tho head alone, in the privacy of his, 'study. I only once, saw-. a.pubJic caning, which was only administered in the most extreme;, cases. . The result of this was that boys, not only feared the (caning, but with inpst it, was; looked, upon -as a• disgrace..; In' our. Stfite ' schools .-to-aaj', aparontly anyone, .male or female, in the moment if hot temper.vriay administer the strap.' i! The effect IS/in every way bad, the practice has not one single ,;tpature -to'.commend it. . Nothing but harm can result from 'children seeing a girl" using a-.strap on their mates, or a teacher ns , n !e.,?, strap on a, girl. And is for the exhibitions of brutality, of which the-recent pUQishment of Iloy Ronnie is an examplo, I c.mnot ' conceive anything .more detrimental, " a nd; I -,- cannot - understand how those respon- - sible. can allow them to .ebntinuo. If "the st'tftp ; were abolished and the cane reintroduced,; and corporal punishment administered /in fi dignified and calm -manner by the head- ' master.only, there would.be some good iri it. The'ipresent system, if not brutal, is simply so ineffectual that,it-is laughed at by the' children." . - , ; .. .

• ••With. Mr. Harper's views I cordially agree 'There?is' no doubt that public punishment" \ in' froilt-of a-class, -more frequently endows J- tho--rccipient. with ; 'a:6heap heroism than a-just-disgrace,.,,The cane ;,or, the., strap, is, and alipytshould te/,a last;resort, not a daily medium,-an-..the,-.- establishment of good dis-' cipline.' It must always' be regarded as an essential'-instrument; in the maintaining of order—there 'can'"be 'no question of 1 tWt. There'-' is, however, as Mr. Harper ' states, some improvement required in the' direction of-.systeinatising the administration of cor-poral-punishment. .It.i 3 properly the func- ' tion 'of the head teacher, and in a less, and strictly regulated degree, of - his responsible assistants. Its ..infliction should associated only with tho gravor infractions, of the ••files of., the school, constituting, per-so, an fcxpreslsioh, judicial in character, or profound disapproval'. The subject, as a matter for consideration, is worthy of. tho attention of the;. Teachers'- Institute, which, having been granted., a/satisfactory settlement of its professional interests, might now, with profit, zivo sortio attention to tho'ethics of its art. Meanwhile, the Palnierston episode is to be reviewed'at an inquiry which, was to liove, bewr held ' by , the School Committee last; evening.-