CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2620, 13 February 1894, Page 4

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS.

Writing on this subject a correspondent of the Rangiora Standard says “I noticed in a report of a meeting held recently by the North Canterbury Board of Education, that they had decided to “ do away with corporal punishment to girls above the age -of twelve years.’’ Now, this is in my opinion, to use a vulgarism, a parcel of rot. J net at the age when girls—yes, girls above all, girls—need the most looking after, wheu they jn these days ate just beginning to fanCf .#M*f»oelves as somebody, and generally th® most correcting, these wise members of ths Board gay, “give them no more stick ” I suppose th© schoolmaster will have to vent his righteous rage upon the head of some poor little brat of six or seven summers, who hardly knows right from wrong, and who should have most care and attention bestowed upon him at the .hands of their teachers. But perhaps the punishment they intend to adopt is to keep these erring over-twelve-year-old girls in after school. But this, too, is unreasonable, as girls of this age are of use to their parents, who do not want all their children's time monopolised at school. Bo the Board think that the boys are the only culprits, and that girls are exempt from wrong-doing. Let them take a look at the daily papers, where, nearly every day, cases of young women being charged with crime occur, either for larceny,drunkenness, and some times even murder, and no doubt, if ajiuo of them had been brought up properly in their childhood, these things would not be, which are a standing stigma to the Colonies. 1 daresay many of these never attended any sell ,01, therefore not being brought up under proper discipline. I contend that children should be treated with the utmost kindness, for often more is done by this than by anything else, but at the same time, all wilful offenders should be punished, whether male or female, under or above twelve years. I hope this latest but silly addition to our school rules will at once be altered, for I do not think that there are many parents who will fall in with it. The idea of ©hanging the weapon of punishment from the can© tp the strap, 1 fall in with, but let the fliigelly.tor be used on all without respect of per no;?, Thpre is a vast

amount of difference between correcting children and flogging them to the injury of their health ; the latter practice should most certainly be stopped.”