Show KATHLEEN NORRIS Should Schools Abandon Rod IN THE CALIFORNIA collegetown college collegetown collegetown town at ai Berkeley Calif a movement movement move move- movement ment was recently Inaugurated to restore the old custom of whipping as a punishment for refractory children In schools It appears ars now now to be a lost cause and Berkeley's mothers and fathers are drawing a long breath of relief mingled with Indignation But that isn't the whole story even to those of us who can remember remember remember re re- re- re member the frightened helpless tears of small boys ordered to report report re re- report re- re port to the principals principal's office and the swollen hands bands and tear len eyes of gentle genUe little girls who had felt Teachers Teacher's merciless rod Naturally we regard that cold impersonal im tm personal beating of our loved youngsters as a relic of barbarism an admission of the failure of school discipline and control But Butt it t isn't the whole story The story Includes children who simply cannot be reached by any t Other ether ther means than that of bullying of breaking of the spirit of physical physical physical cal pain and shame There are many such luch children Unmanageable Child They are children who have had no home training at all ail They do donot donot donot not know the words duty obedience attention respect manners They are sent to school to be gotten out of the way nobody at home ever suggests that they try to make the teachers teacher's task easier easler that they do their home work conscientiously conscientious conscientious- ly that they learn to concentrate They dont don't know what school Is i They dont don't know that civilization I has painfully developed schools and i that every hour In a school is paid for by taxpayers and that Amer Amer- I ro Iro I i Ih the thi bl child bUd lea ice spends millions upon millions every year to give every one of her little sons Ions and daughters training in educational essentials athletic development capability Mo to accept the right calling calline in fn life lite when it offers Itself Every teacher of ot the grade school classes knows the unmanageable child chUd Sometimes it is a girl more often otten a boy The boy bar Is a smarty marty show He lie isn't afraid of 01 anyone hit he h doesn't doesn have to obey anyone He lie laughs Joyfully if U he is dragged bodily bodil into school Ills His Idleness his sneers affect all aU U the other children chil chU dren lie Ife knows know how to punish the teacher and be h. punishes her through weary lesson hours exhausting exhausting exhausting ex ex- her energies and delightIng delight delight- In Ing In increasing signs of ot her help helplessness leunen A certain year old boy put back into a class clais of at year olds was such luch a bo boy He llo bullied small small- smaller maUer er boys boyl answered the teacher with veiled insolence and one day thrust out his hi toot foot as II Ih she walked down the aisle able The tea teacher her a gentle year old woman fell tell heavily and the tho buys boys grinning denial deni that tha he bad done don it Wl tilled 1 ih the he bonwith boys bon with admiration BI Bit Right RICh Person PersonA A tons tong Ion Longtime time ac i 1 I was u sub sub- U ut teacher for a week In la a af f 4 i tt I. I v f i t small private school In the school was a year old 9 named Stuart Stuart was a heavy blubbery sort of child who had been left entirely entirely entire entire- ly to oriental servants and h had d had his own way all his life Stuart threw ink about pulled curls kicked the shins of smaller boys and finally took up his stand in the yard and for three days would not some come into school Twice I dragged him in and twice he made himself heavy in the mysterious way achild a achild child chUd can and It was it-was was with difficulty I that I could pull him off of the ground Meanwhile school hours were lost I and the other children stood about entranced The board of managers church folk all all arrived In a body to cize Stuarts Stuart's elegant mother was among them She was the one who asked if it a teacher was not expected expect expect- ed to win the love of of the children And she went to put a motherly arm about Stuart Stuart- Stuart bit his bis mothers mother's wrist until the blood ran I was shocked we all were But I felt that if Stuart was going to bite anyone he be had chosen the right and responsible person It seems seems to mo me that if It we parents parents parents par par- are going to ban physical punishment punishment pun pun- in school school and and I believe we should that should that we should also find the solution for the teachers' teachers problem problem problem lem when one of those completely incorrigible children comes along There is no such thing as a naturally natural natural- ly bad child |