NRS-17568 | Punishment book [Shepardstown Public School]

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Regulations under the Public Schools Act of 1866, adopted by the Council [of Education] 27 February 1867, regulated the punishment of children in schools by stipulating: “In the government of the pupils, all degrading and injurious punishments are to be avoided. The Teacher’s discipline must be mild but firm, his manner kindly, his demeanour cheerful and calculated to gain the confidence of his pupils, and his language marked by strict propriety. While he should overlook no offence, his aim should be to prevent the necessity for punishment by the improvement of the offender.”

In relation to corporal punishment the regulations continue: “Corporal punishment should be inflicted in extreme cases only, and then as a last resource; and the teacher must keep a record of the time and place at which pupils were corporally chastised, the amount of such punishment and the nature of the offence.”

Uniform stationery soon evolved to enable compliance with these regulations. These punishment books are registers of all instances of corporal punishment administered to pupils. The information they detail includes: the pupil’s name; age; nature of offence; amount of punishment (i.e. number of strokes); the instrument of punishment (almost invariably the cane); by whom sent; the date of the punishment; and by whom the punishment was inflicted.

The inside cover of the volumes provided contained instructions to teachers on ‘corporal punishment,’ including the following stipulations:
*"Corporal punishment should only be inflicted by the principal;
*Corporal punishment should be restricted to extreme cases only;
*Teachers must keep a record of the punishments inflicted;
*Corporal punishment should not be considered an aid to instruction, nor should it be inflicted for failure to learn or neglect of homework;
*Corporal punishment of girls over 12 years of age is strictly prohibited;
*A teacher’s efficiency will be evaluated by the extent to which the government of the school is secured without resorting to corporal punishment."