THE ROD AND THE CHILD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13671, 9 April 1908, Page 7

THE ROD AND THE CHILD.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS. ISITNE(aBSSARY? - Thirty years ago the New York Board of Education abolished whipping in schools as an inhuman practice, br.utal,ising both to ,the whipper and to tho whipped,. Ever sinno that time the question of sparing the rod has been actively discussed in all,par,ts of tho United States, and many attempts have been made to restore the birch to its old place in the New York schools. A few weeks ago some pro-rod agitators ' presented to the Education Board a formidable volume containing arguments and opinions in favour of the mqdorate useof the birch as, an aid to learning. Tho leaders Of the mq^ement declare that experienced opinion %n both sides, of the Atlantic is emphatically against the moral suasion \ doctrine and in favour of' the rod "not necessarily for daily, regular s application, but for such occasional and di£1 criminating use as special circumstances , demand." The " agitators quote a weighty opinion from Mi- Mosley, the British Co'mmissionpr who reported on education in America a few years ajgp. "The rod," he 'said, '%? a- -grea^'rV • serve power. American' children know : full well that there is no rod for them, >be tli^y never so deserving. They tell I you flatly, as I have been told by pre- ' I'oeious youngsters of eight or mile, ; 'It's illegal in America ; no doubt it's 'nil right for English children.'" Tho New Yqrk correspondent, of the Daily r ' Telegraph, professing to summarise public opinion generally, thinks that ;the rod ought to carry the day. ■' "American children," ho says, "are undoubtedly the sauciest and worst-be-haved in tho world, a fact .which American parents who have lived in Europe reluctantly admit. There is nothing which impresses American tourists to England so much as 'the nice, well-behaved children,' and it is •believed that the rod in reserve for the unruly on the British side of the Atlantic deserves some credit." The views of New York teachers were lately taken at an informal poll, -with the resalt that 270 voted m favour of and 200 against tho of the cane. There is little likelihood of the Education Board going baok on its position, however, because it has to consider the feeling of the public, and so far'.thcre is no indication that the people in goneral are dissatisfied with the results of the • method of moral suasioE. New York is not the only place whore ,tho cane is considered unnecessary in the schools. In Sweden, so a Swedish l.xdy once informed a momberiof the . Tarauaki Herald staff, no- corporal punishment ,is given fjt school, but each - pupil has to take to his parents a weekly report from the teacher on his, conduct. The parents do the rest.