RESUME OF LECTURES ON EDUCATION, BY C. C. HOWARD, ESQ, F.R.G.S.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 134, 30 October 1877, Page 2

RESUME OF LECTURES ON EDUCATION, BY C. C. HOWARD, ESQ, F.R.G.S.

Lecture XV.—Subject: Discipline. Principles as expounded by great teachers. . -—Delegation of it to young teachers.— Rewards and Punishments. — Corporal Punishment.

Discipline, formerly considered synonymous with education, is now limited in its strictest meaning to Moral Training, and comprises Order, System, and Method. Moral training is the all-important thing in education. Discipline is not necessarily punishment and correction, but includes all means and agencies used in training the whole character. Punishment, though not implied in the word, is often resorted to instead of discipline. Punishment and correction are only necessary when discipline fails. Discipline strives to form the Moral character aright in the easiest manner. Great teachers of olden times varied about the exercise of discipline, chiefly because of the different modes of thought and manner of action at different periods ; and though they differed greatly as to the severity deserved, or amount of discrimination to be exercised, yet they had all a common ground of agreement in recognising the necessity of discipline. Mr Howard reviewed at some length the opinions held by some of tlie principal teachers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and of the severe practices then in vogue in England and elsewhere in the government of both school and State. As far back as 1060. a.d., Anselm scolded one of his teachers because he used severity, and called him a workman who could only turn a human being into a brute. Erasmus, in 1509, and Ascham in 1600, besides others of the same period, wrote on the importance of discipline without severity. Mental, and .moral discipline are very different processes. In Moral discipline a very common mistake is made in punishing for ignorance instead of wilful obstinacy

only. Very careful distinction should be made, as M'afial discipline requires the utmost gentleness. The fule. adopted in the middle ages was that' the discipline should be moral with reasonable severity j The lecturer here quoted several instances of the " reasonable severity " resorted to. ■ In 1536.it was enacted that sturdy beggars for first offence, be mercifully whipped at cart tails till blood comes; for second offence, to have ears cropped ; and for third offence, to be hanged ! In 1547, for begging, the punishment was—for first offence, branded and reduced, to slavery for two years, and to be ill fed; for second offence, to be hanged! In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for first offence for begging, the punishment was to be mercifully whipped and bored through the ear with |-inch hot iron ; Becond offence, to be treated as a felon; and third time to be executed. These were instances of the so-called "reasonable severity." in those days. In reign of Henry VIII., 2000 persons are said to have been executed for trivial offences, and in reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth, not less than 400 persons were annually put to death for simple offences. In 1693, Locke protested strongly against the habits of undue severity in public schools, and his voice now influences indirectly the tone of schools in these days. Teachers should study the children's characters, endeavour to fashion their own work to them, and try to check the beginnings of evil by punishing for the first offence. They should insist upon being obeyed by children when very young, and let their punishment be assimilated to nature. Punishment should never he accumulative, but equitable, and* guided by discrimination. A code of punishment is very necessary in our schools, but children should only be whipped for. obstinacy, and great care should be taken . that the motive is obstinacy. If the first whipping has no effect, some other method should be tried. Rewards should be given for stimulus and encouragement, and teachers should pray for their children. Experience teaches that wrong actions produce bad results. Virtue should be encouraged to counteract vice. No stick, except for pointing, ought to be used in the Infant Schopl. Copy Arnold's example at Rugby, and encourage the public opinion of the school against what is wrong, and get the upper boys of the schools to work with the teachers to ensure success and good order." ,

Result of preceding lessons.—Two chief aims — Cultivate good habits and discourage bad ones; create good ■ moral atmosphere in the school, and depend for success upon personal example and influence. Get order in the playground before entering school, and make the schoolroom the realm of order, authority, and lawExercise control over children during the dinner hour,' and attend especially to their cleanliness. Give plenty of work to do while in school, arid, as much as possible,, frequent change of posture. Insist upon immediate obedience to all orders given, and speak only once. If obliged to punish, examine first the motive of the offence, act justly, and use discrimination. . Keep discipline (especially in upper classes), punish cahrily, regularly, and deliberately. Use corporal punishment only as a last extremity, and invest the occasion with all due solemnity. If corporal punishment fails, expel or suspend.

Rewards. -Objected to hy some,- but sanctioned by the teaching and practice of Christ. Our Saviour held out both future- = rewards and punishments to emulate or deter His hearers,. All rewards should be recognitions for work faithfully done, and not premiums for cleverness. Let good conduct be an inevitable condition for %. rewards, and give special prizes for regularity; punctuality, good moral character, neatness, and other deserving qualities.