|
Manuals
Conduct of Christian Schools:
SECOND PART - CHAPTER 5
MEANS OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING ORDER IN SCHOOLS
BACK
CHAPTER 5
Introductory Remarks on Corrections in General 5
The correction of the students is one of the most important things to be done in the schools. The greatest care must be taken in order that it may be timely and beneficial both for those who receive it and for those who witness it. For this reason, there are many things to be considered in regard to the use of the corrections which may be administered in the schools and which will be discussed in the following articles. This will be done after the necessity of joining gentleness to firmness in the guidance of children has been explained.
Experience founded on the unvarying teachings of the Saints and the examples which they have set us affords sufficient proof that, to perfect those who are committed to our care, we must act toward them in a manner at the same time both gentle and firm. Many, however, are obliged to admit, or at least they show by the manner in which they behave toward those in their care, that they do not see how these two things can easily be joined together in practice. If, for example, absolute authority and an overbearing attitude are assumed in dealing with children, it is likely that a teacher will find it difficult to keep this way of acting from becoming harsh and unbearable. Although this course may begin as great zeal it is not wise, as Saint Paul says, since it overlooks human weakness.
At the same time, if too much consideration is had for human weakness and if, under the pretext of showing compassion, children are allowed to do as they will, the result will be wayward, idle, and unruly students.
What, then, must be done in order that firmness may not degenerate into harshness and that gentleness may not degenerate into languor and weakness?
To throw some light on this matter, which appears to be of no little importance, it seems opportune to set forth in a few words some principal ways in which teachers express that severity and harshness in guiding and educating children which become unbearable. Then will be described how a contrary weakness by the teacher can lead to all laxness, disorder, and so forth among the students.
The following are examples of a teacher's conduct which becomes unbearable to those in the teacher's charge.
First, the teacher's penances are too rigorous and the yoke which the teacher imposes upon the students is too heavy. This state of affairs is frequently due to lack of discretion and judgment on the part of the teacher. It often happens that students do not have enough strength of body or of mind to bear the burdens which many times overwhelm them.
Second, when the teacher enjoins, commands, or exacts something of the children with words too harsh and in a manner too domineering. Above all, the teacher's conduct is unbearable when it arises from unrestrained impatience or anger.
Third, when the teacher is too insistent in urging upon a child some performance which the child is not disposed to do, and the teacher does not permit the child the leisure or the time to reflect.
Fourth, when the teacher exacts little things and big things alike with the same ardor.
Fifth, when the teacher immediately rejects the reasons and excuses of children and is not willing to listen to them at all.
Sixth and final, when the teacher, not mindful enough of personal faults, does not know how to sympathize with the weaknesses of children and so exaggerates their faults too much. This is the situation when the teacher reprimands them or punishes them and acts as though dealing with an insensible instrument rather than with a creature capable of reason.
At the other extreme the following are examples of the teacher's weakness which leads to negligent and lax conduct by the students.
First, care is taken by the teacher only about things that are important and which cause disorder, and other less important matters are imperceptibly neglected.
Second, when not enough insistence is placed upon the performance and observance of the school practices and those things which constitute the duties of the children.
Third, when children are easily permitted to neglect what has been prescribed.
Fourth, when, in order to preserve the friendship of the children, a teacher shows too much affection and tenderness to them. This involves granting something special or giving too much liberty to the more intimate. This does not edify the others, and it causes disorder.
Fifth, when, on account of the teacher's natural timidity, the children are addressed or reprimanded so weakly or so coldly that they do not pay any attention or that the correction makes no impression upon them.
Sixth and final, a teacher easily forgets proper deportment, which consists principally in maintaining a gravity which encourages respect and restraint on the part of the children. This lack of deportment manifests itself either in speaking to the students too often and too familiarly or in doing some undignified act.
It is easy to recognize what constitutes too much harshness and too much gentleness by an examination of these examples. Both of these extremes must be avoided if one is to be neither too harsh nor too weak, if one is to be firm in attaining the purpose and gentle in the means of attaining it, and in all to show great charity accompanied by zeal. A teacher must be constant in persevering. However, children must not be permitted to expect impunity or to do whatever they wish, and the like; gentleness is not proper in such cases. We must know that gentleness consists in never allowing any harshness or anything whatsoever that savors of anger or passion to appear in reprimands. Instead, being gentle means showing the gravity of a father, a compassion full of tenderness, and a certain ease, which is, however, lively and effective. The teacher who rebukes or punishes must make it very clear that such punishment arises from necessity and that it is out of zeal for the common good that it is administered.
ARTICLE I
Different Kinds of Corrections
The faults of children can be corrected by several different methods: (1) by word; (2) by penances; (3) by the ferule; (4) by the rod; and (5) by expulsion from school. As there is something special to remark about penances, they will receive special attention after all other matters pertaining to punishments have been discussed.
Section I
Correction by Words
As one of the principal rules of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is to speak rarely in their schools, the use of corrections by word or reprimands ought to be very rare. It seems even much better not to make use of them at all. Threats, being a sort of reprimand, might be used, but only very rarely and with much circumspection. When a teacher has threatened the students with something, and one of them commits the fault on account of which they have been threatened, the student must invariably be punished and never pardoned.
Unconditional threats must never be made. For example, the teacher should never say, "You will get the ferule!" or "You will be corrected!" Threats should always be subject to some condition. For example, the teacher might say, "Anyone who fails to pray during Holy Mass or whoever is the last to come to school late will be corrected."
Ordinarily, threats must be made by nonverbal signs, as explained in the chapter on the use of signs in making corrections.
A teacher may, nevertheless, sometimes speak to the students in a firm manner in order to intimidate them. This must be done without affectation, however, and without passion. If it is done with passion, the students will easily recognize this, and it would not receive God's blessing.
Section II
Correction with the Ferule: When It May and Should Be Used and the Manner of Using It
The ferule is an instrument consisting of two pieces of leather sewn together. It should be from 10 to 12 inches in length, including the handle, and should end in an oval of two inches in diameter. The inside of this oval should be stuffed. In this way, it will not be completely flat and will be somewhat rounded on the outside.
The ferule may be used for several offences: (1) for not following a lesson or for playing during a lesson; (2) for coming to school late; (3) for not obeying at the first sign given; and (4) for several other similar reasons. All of this is to say that the ferule is used for faults that are not very important.
Only one slap of the ferule on the hand should be given. If it is sometimes necessary to administer more, it must never be more than two.
The left hand should be struck, especially in the case of students in the writing class. This is done so as not to make the right hand heavy; such would be a great obstacle in writing.
It should not be given to those whose hands have some damage. A different penance should be imposed on them, for it is necessary to forsee the injuries that might arise from this form of correction and to try to avoid it.
The students should not be allowed to cry out when receiving a slap on the hand with the ferule or when receiving any other correction. If they do so, they must be punished again without fail for having cried out. They must then be made to understand that it is for crying out that they are now being corrected.
When the ferule or any other punishment is given to the students for having committed some fault which caused them to neglect their duties, such as for having talked or played in school or in church or for having looked behind them, and the like, it is important that they not be told that it is merely for having talked or played that they are receiving the correction but for not having studied their lesson, or for not having prayed in church.
Section III
Correction with the Rod
According to the usage established in the Christian Schools, the rod may be used to correct the student: (1) for not having been willing to obey; (2) when they make a practice of not following the lessons and of not studying; (3) for having scribbled on their paper instead of writing; (4) for having fought in school or on the streets; (5) for not having prayed in church; (6) for not having behaved with decorum at Holy Mass or during Catechism; and (7) for having been absent through their own fault from school, from Mass, or from Catechism on Sundays and holy days.
These corrections should be administered with great moderation and presence of mind. Ordinarily, no more than three blows should be given. If it is sometimes necessary to go beyond this number, never more than five should be given without a special permission from the Director.
Section IV
Expulsion of Students from School
Students may be, and sometimes ought to be, dismissed from the school. However, this should be done only upon the advice of the Director. Those who should be sent away are the dissolute who are capable of ruining others, those who absent themselves easily and often from school, from the Parish Mass or from Catechism on Sundays and holy days through the fault of their parents and with whom it is becoming a habit, and the incorrigible, that is to say, those who, after having been corrected a great number of times, do not amend their conduct. It should, however, be an extraordinary occurrence to expel a student from school.
ARTICLE II
Frequent Corrections and How to Avoid Them
If a school is to be well-regulated and in very good order, the correction must be rare.
The ferule must be used only when necessary, and things must be so ordered that this is a rare necessity. It is not possible to determine precisely the number of times that it may be given each day, because of the different circumstances that may render it obligatory to use it more or less frequently. Nevertheless, steps should be taken to guarantee that its use will not exceed three times in a half day. To make use of it more than these three times, the circumstances must be truly extraordinary.
Correction by use of rod should be much rarer than that with the ferule. It should, at most, be inflicted only three or four times in a month.
Extraordinary correction should, consequently and for the same reasons, be very rare.
To avoid frequent correction, which is a source of great disorder in a school, it is necessary to note well that it is silence, restraint, and watchfulness on the part of the teacher that establish and maintain good order in a class. It is not harshness and blows that establish and maintain good order. A constant effort must be made to act with skill and ingenuity in order to keep the students in order while making almost no use of correction.
In order to be effective, the same means of correction must not always be used. Otherwise, the students will grow accustomed to them. Rather, a teacher must sometimes threaten, sometimes correct, sometimes pardon, and sometimes make use of various other means which the ingenuity of a skillful and thoughtful teacher will easily suggest on the appropriate occasion. If, however, a teacher should happen to think of some other particular means and believes these could be adopted to keep the students at their duties and forestall correction, they should be proposed to the Director. The teacher will not make use of them until having received permission.
Teachers will not administer any extraordinary correction without having first consulted with the Director. For this reason, they will postpone them, which is, at the same time, a very proper thing to do, in order to have adequate time for some reflection beforehand and to give more weight to what they intend to do, and leave a greater impression on the minds of the students.
ARTICLE III
Qualities Which Corrections Should Possess
Correction, in order to be beneficial to the students, should be accompanied by the ten following qualities.
First, it must be pure and disinterested. That is to say, correction must be administered purely for the glory of God and for the fulfillment of God's Holy Will. It must be administered without any desire for personal vengeance, teachers giving no thought to themselves.
Second, correction must be charitable. That is to say, correction must be administered out of a motive of true charity toward the student who receives it and for the salvation of the student's soul.
Third, correction must be just. For this reason, it is necessary to examine carefully beforehand whether the matter for which the teacher is considering correcting the student is effectively a fault and if this fault deserves correction.
Fourth, correction must be proper and suitable to the fault for which it is administered. That is to say, it must be proportionate to the fault both in nature and in degree. Just as there is a difference between faults committed through malice and obstinacy and those committed through weakness, there should also be a difference between the chastisements with which they are punished.
Fifth, correction must be moderate. That is to say, it should be rather less rigorous than more rigorous. It should be of a just medium. Neither should punishment be administered precipitously.
Sixth, correction must be peaceable. Those who administer it should not be moved to anger and should be totally self-controlled. Those to whom it is administered should receive it in a peaceable manner with great tranquillity of mind and outward restraint. It is especially necessary that those who inflict a punishment should take great care that nothing appear in their demeanor that might indicate that they are angry. For this reason, it would be more proper to defer a correction until a time when one no longer feels agitated than to do anything that one might later regret.
Seventh, it must be prudent on the part of the teacher. The teacher should pay great attention to what is done, so as to do nothing that is inappropriate or that could have evil consequences.
Eighth, it must be willingly accepted by the students. Every effort must be made to make the students accept it. The seriousness of their fault and the obligation under which the teacher is to remedy it must be made clear to them. They must be helped to understand the great harm that they can do to themselves and, by their bad example, to their companions.
Ninth, those punished must be respectful. They should receive punishment with submission and respect, as they would receive a chastisement with which God would punish them.
Tenth, it must be silent. In the first place, the teacher must be silent and should not speak, at least not aloud, during this time. In the second place, the student must be silent and ought not to say a single word, cry out, or make any noise whatsoever.
ARTICLE IV
Faults Which Must Be Avoided in Corrections
There are many faults that must be avoided in corrections, and it is important that the teachers should pay very particular attention to them. The principal ones which must be avoided are the following.
No correction should be administered unless it be considered useful and advantageous. Thus, it is bad to administer one without having previously considered whether or not it will be of some use either to the student to whom it is to be administered or to the others who are to witness it.
When a correction is considered useful only to give an example to the others and not to the one who is to receive it, it should not be administered unless it be necessary in order to maintain order in a class. When delay is possible, the advice of the Director should be asked. If it is a case concerning a teacher of one of the lower classes, that teacher will ask advice of the Head Teacher. If it is the Head Teacher who has the problem and at the same time must resolve it, action will be taken only with much precaution and under an evident necessity.
No correction that could be harmful to the one who is to receive it must ever be administered. This would be to act directly contrary to the purpose of correction, which has been instituted only to do good.
No correction should be made that could cause any disorder in the class or even in the school. Examples of this would be those that would only serve to make the child cry out, be repelled, be embittered, or want to leave the school. Such action would lead the student to hold the school in aversion. The complaints that the child or the child's parents would make would repel others and prevent children from coming to school. The teacher should endeavor to foresee these possible consequences before administering any correction for it is important not to fall into them.
A student should never be corrected because of a feeling of aversion or of annoyance that a teacher may have for that student, because the student causes trouble, or because the teacher has no liking for the student. All these motives, which are either bad or merely worldly are very far from those which should animate people who ought to act and conduct themselves only according to the spirit of faith.
Nor should students be corrected because of some displeasure caused either by themselves or their parents. Students who lack respect for their teachers or commit some fault against them, should rather be urged by words to recognize this fault and correct it themselves. This is preferable to punishing them for it. Even if it should be necessary to punish them on account of the bad example which they have given, it would be well to assign some other motive for the correction, such as having caused disorder or having been obstinate.
When administering corrections, familiar forms of address must not be used: instead of tu, toi, ton, va, viens, one should say vous, votre, vos, allez, venez, etc.The pronoun you has two forms in French, singular, (tu, toi, ton) and plural, (vous, votre, vos). Usually the singular is used for family, friends, equals. The plural is used on formal occasions, for respect, or to imply a separation.
It is also important never to use insulting words, or words that are even in the slightest degree unseemly, for example, rascal, knave, or sniveler. None of these words should ever be in the mouth of a teacher in the Christian Schools.
No other means of correction should be used than those approved for the Christian Schools. Thus, students should never be slapped or kicked. Neither should they be struck with the pointer. It is altogether contrary to the decorum and seriousness of a teacher to pull the children's noses, ears, or hair. It is even more unseemly for a teacher to strike them, to push them roughly, or to pull them by the arms.
The ferule must not be thrown at a student, who is then to bring it back. That is highly unbecoming behavior. A student must not be struck with the handle of the ferule on the head, on the back, or on the back of the hand. Neither must two slaps in succession be given with it on the same hand.
In using the ferule, great care must be taken not to strike either the head or the body. The ferule is used only on the palm of the hand.
In punishing students teachers must be very careful not to strike them on any place where they may have any sore or injury, lest it worsen, and not to strike so hard that marks may appear.
Teachers should not leave their place to administer the ferule or speak while administering it. They should not allow the student who is receiving it to speak, much less to cry aloud, either when being punished or afterward.
The teachers will also be careful not to assume any improper posture when administering correction, such as stretching their arms or contorting their bodies, nor to make any other unseemly motions contrary to modesty.
Teachers will, finally, be very careful not to administer any correction impulsively or when agitated. They will watch so carefully over themselves that neither angry passions nor the least touch of impatience shall have any part when administering correction. Such behavior can prevent the benefit and place an obstacle to the blessing that God would give.
Here is the practice to follow concerning who should or should not administer correction. Every teacher may, in the teacher's own class, use the ferule as often as necessary. Teachers who have not yet reached the age of twenty-one will not administer correction with the rod, unless they have consulted the Director, or the one whom the Director has put in charge of such matters, and have taken their advice upon the subject. The teacher in charge of such matters will also watch very carefully over the punishments which these younger teachers administer, either with the ferule or otherwise, and will report twice each week to the Director on all that has been done in the classes.
The same line of conduct will be followed with respect to the teachers who have reached the age of twenty-one, during the six months of trial which they will spend in the schools and during the first year after their novitiate.Since all of the teachers in the Christian Schools at the time of the composition of this text would have been Brothers, all would have been required to make a novitiate.
ARTICLE V
Children Who Must or Must Not Be Corrected
There are five vices which must not ordinarily be excused: (1) lying, (2) fighting, (3) theft, (4) impurity, and (5) indecorum in church.
Liars must be punished for their lies, even the least, in order to make students understand that there are no little lies in the sight of God, since the devil is the father of lies, as Our Lord tells us in the Holy Gospel. Let them rather be pardoned or punished less severely when they frankly acknowledge their faults. They may be led afterward to conceive the horror which they ought to have of lies, and they will be persuaded to ask pardon humbly of God, while kneeling in the middle of the classroom. Those who have been fighting will be corrected in the same way. If two or more were involved, they will be punished together. If it was a student and another child who is not of the school, the teacher will ascertain exactly who was at fault. The student will not be corrected unless the teacher is very certain that the student was at fault. Teachers will act in exactly the same way with all other faults committed outside of the school. If students have been fighting in the school, they are to be punished as an example, and they must be made to understand that this fault is one of the gravest that they can commit. Those who have taken and concealed anything, however small its value be, even if it be only a pen, will be similarly punished. If they are found to be subject to this vice, they will be expelled from the school. Those who have been guilty of any impure act or have used obscene words will be punished by the same correction. Those who have been playing with persons of the opposite sex or who have been frequently in their company will be seriously warned the first time. If they persist in this fault, they will likewise be severely punished.
The teachers will often seek to instill into their students a great disinclination for the company of these persons and will urge them never to mingle with them. Even if they are their relatives and even if they are sometimes obliged to converse with them, however young they may be, let it be very rarely and always in the presence of their parents or of some sensible elderly persons.
Those who have been disorderly in church will be severely punished, and they will be made to understand the great respect that they must have for God in this holy place. Furthermore, they must understand that it is to be lacking in faith to be in church without piety and without both inner and outward self-control.
For this last fault, one must not punish all kinds of students, large and small alike, in the same manner. Unless the little ones are very carefully watched while they are in church and unless the teacher has acquired great authority and control, it will be difficult for the young ones to observe the moderation and control that is required of them. It is necessary, however, to pay great attention to this matter. There is nothing that should be omitted to prevent any student from behaving in a disorderly way in church.
If a teacher is not sufficiently vigilant and does not possess sufficient authority to keep order in church, another teacher must be appointed to do so. The one who is appointed on this occasion will do what the other cannot.
Section I
Ill-bred and Self-willed or Delinquent Children
There are some children to whose conduct their parents pay very little attention, sometimes none at all. From morning until evening, they do only what they please. They have no respect for their parents. They are disobedient. They grumble at the least thing. Sometimes these faults do not come from an evil disposition of heart or mind; they come from their having been left to themselves. Unless they are naturally of a bold and haughty temperament, they must be frequently admonished. They must also be corrected for their bad dispositions. When they let some of their faults appear in school, they must be subdued and rendered submissive. If they are of a bold and haughty spirit, they should be given some charge or responsibility in the school, such as Monitor, if they are considered qualified, or Collector of Papers. They should be promoted in something such as writing, arithmetic, or spelling in order to inspire them with a liking for school. But along with this they must be corrected and brought into line, never allowed, in anything whatsoever, to act as they please. If such students are young, there are fewer measures to be taken. They must be corrected while they are young, in order that they may not continue in their bad conduct.
As for those who are bold and insolent, one must speak with them little and always only seriously. When they have committed some fault, they should be told and corrected if it appears that it would help them to confuse and humble their disposition. They must be held in check and not allowed to reply to anything that is said to them. It would be a good thing to admonish and reprimand them sometimes in private for their faults. Such admonishment must always be administered with great seriousness and in a manner which will keep them respectful.
Those who are heedless and frivolous must be corrected a little. Ordinarily, they do not reflect much, and a short time after having been corrected they sometimes fall again into the same fault or into another fault which deserves the same punishment. Their faults do not come from pure malice but from thoughtlessness. They must be treated in a way which may prevent them from misbehaving. They can be shown affection, but they should not be given any charge or responsibility. They should be seated as near the teacher as possible, under the pretext of helping them, but in reality, in order to watch over them. They should also be placed between two students of a sedate disposition who do not ordinarily commit faults. They should also be given some rewards from time to time to make them assiduous and fond of school, for it is these who are absent most frequently, and to induce them while there to remain in order and silent.
Section II
Stubborn Students
The stubborn must always be corrected, especially those who resist and are not willing to accept correction. However, two precautions must always be taken in regard to this kind of children. (1) No attempt to correct them is to be made without having thoroughly examined the faults that they have committed and it is clear that they deserve correction. (2) When such children resist, either because they do not want to submit to correction or because they do not want to leave their seats, it will often be much more to the purpose to let their bad attitude pass. In this case, it is best not to let it appear that there is any intention of making the correction. Some time later, the teacher will call them and speak with them gently making them realize and admit their fault, both originally and in resisting. The teacher will then correct the student as an example. In case the student is not yet willing to accept the correction, the student must be forced to do so, for only a single example of resistance would be needed to produce several others afterward. Some time later when it seems that the bad mood has passed, the teacher will gently make the student draw near to reflect on the incident. The teacher will lead the student afterward to admit the fault and ask pardon while kneeling.
However, the school should be so ordered as to forestall this sort of resistance and to make it happen very rarely. Otherwise, it would cause a very bad effect.
There is another kind of stubborn children who mutter after they have been corrected. When they have returned to their seats, they lean their heads on their arms or maintain some other unseemly posture. Such manners must never be permitted. These students should be obliged to study or to follow the lesson. If the teacher cannot prevent a student who has been corrected from grumbling, muttering, weeping, or disturbing the school in some other manner, because of youth, low intelligence, or some other reason, and if it has been observed that punishments not only do not bring a sense of duty, but perhaps even render the student more stubborn, it would ordinarily be more to the purpose not to make the correction. It would be better to pretend not to notice it when such a student does not study or fails to do some other duty. It might be better even to send the student home.
In these situations, the teachers will take care to obtain clarification or permission from the Director concerning what they should do. Silence during correction and a proper manner of administering it will ordinarily prevent most of these failures.
One of the most effective means for avoiding many of these problems is not to send students back to their places immediately after administering the ferule or the rod. They should be left kneeling in full view of the teacher.
Section III
Children Who Have Been Gently Reared and Those of a Timid Disposition; Stupid and Sickly Children; Little Children and Newcomers
There are some parents whose manner of bringing up their children is to give them all that they ask. They never contradict or oppose them in anything, and they almost never correct them for their faults. It seems that they fear to cause them pain, and so they cannot suffer that the least correction be administered to them.
Such children are almost always of a gentle and peaceable nature. For that reason, it is ordinarily better not to correct them. It is ordinarily better to correct their faults by some other means, such as giving them some penance that is easy to perform, preventing their faults in some skillful manner, pretending not to see them, or admonishing them gently in private.
If it is sometimes felt that it is necessary to correct them, it should not be done without consulting the Director or the Head Teacher. In such cases, correction should be light and very rare.
If the means that are used to prevent their faults or to correct them are of no avail, it is often better to send them away than to correct them. An exception to this might be made after speaking with their parents and making them agree that it will be well to correct the child.
Those who have a gentle and timid disposition should not ordinarily be corrected. The example of students who do well, the fear which they naturally have of the chastisements which they see inflicted, and some penances, will suffice to make them do their duty. They do not often commit faults, and they easily keep still. Furthermore, their faults are not considerable, and they should sometimes be tolerated. At times, a warning will suffice for them, at other times, a penance. Thus, there will be no need of corrections and chastisements to keep them in good order.
Much the same can be done in the case of stupid children who create disturbance only when it becomes necessary to correct them. Ordinarily, this should not be done. If they are troublesome in school, it is better to send them away. If they cause no trouble and create no disturbance, they should be let alone.
The faults children like these commit ordinarily include not following the lesson, not reading well, not remembering or reciting the Catechism well, and learning nothing or very little. What is beyond their capacity must not be required of them. Neither should teachers let them become discouraged but should manage somehow to advance them, encourage them from time to time, and be satisfied with the little progress that they make.
In respect to those who are sickly, it is important that they should not be corrected. This is especially the case when the correction might increase their ailment. Some other means of correction should be used with them, or a penance be imposed on them.
There are also many little children who likewise must not be corrected or only very rarely. They have not attained the use of reason and are not capable of profiting from correction. Deal with them in much the same manner as with children of a gentle and timid disposition.
Finally, one must abstain from correcting children who are just beginning school. It is necessary, first, to know their minds, their natures, and their inclinations. They should be told from time to time what they are to do. They should be placed near some students who acquit themselves well of their duties. In this way, they may learn by practice and by example. They should ordinarily be in school about two weeks before being corrected, for correcting newcomers can only repel them and alienate them from school. However, if it is important to act thus to new students, it is no less important that a teacher who is new in a class refrain from administering any correction until the students are understood.
Section IV
Accusers and Accused
The teachers must not readily listen to reports and accusations made against students. However, they will not rebuff those who make these reports but will be careful to examine the reports well and not to correct hastily without due consideration for reports that have been made to them.
If it is some of the students who report or accuse one of their companions, the teacher will without delay determine privately whether other students have seen the fault committed. The teacher will do what is needed to learn the circumstances that will help to discover the truth. If the matter appears dubious or not altogether certain, the teacher will not correct the accused unless the latter admits the fault. When the fault is admitted, correction will be less severe, like assigning only a penance, but making the student understand that this is because the truth was told. If the teacher ascertains that the student has been falsely accused or that it is through revenge or some other passion that it has been done, the accuser will be severely punished.
If it is parents who come to accuse their children and say that they should be corrected, this should not be done just for this reason. Parents often speak thus from anger, and they would not do so at any other time. If, however, the fault deserves correction, the parents must be given to understand that they should correct their children themselves. If it happens that several students commit the same fault and each one knows that the others are guilty, if one is corrected all of them must be, for instance, if several students have been fighting or if two or three have been talking or playing during Holy Mass. However, if several have committed the same fault and they are unaware of the guilt of the others or if they believe that the teacher is ignorant of it, it will ordinarily be well to correct only one of them and to pretend to be unaware of the faults of the others.
On such occasions, the student whose correction will be of the greatest benefit both to the offender and to the others must be corrected. At the same time in situations like these, do not correct those whom an example alone suffices to frighten and make attend to their duties, and those who have committed a fault for the first time or who commit it rarely.
ARTICLE VI
What the Practice Should Be in
All These Methods of Correcting
When the teacher wishes to administer the ferule to a student, the usual signal will be given to attract the attention of the students. The teacher will then indicate with the point of the signal the rule which has been violated and immediately make a sign to the offender to draw near. The offender will go to the teacher, make the sign of the cross, and hold out the left hand. Care must be taken that the student holds the hand well extended and quite steady, and does not withdraw it. If the hand is not held properly, the teacher will personally demonstrate how this is to be done. If the refusal to comply continues, the student must be forced to do so and given two strokes of the ferule instead of one.
When there is a refusal to hold out a hand, the teacher will make a sign to the student to go to the place where correction is administered, and will then administer it. In such instances, teachers will conduct themselves as they have been told to do when correcting with the rod, and so forth.
When the ferule is being administered the students must neither put their thumb in the middle of their hand nor hold their hand half open. After the punishment the teacher will oblige them to cross their arms and kneel, or will have them go modestly to their seats, without permitting them to make any contortions with their arms or their bodies or to do any unseemly thing like grumbling or crying aloud. If any of these things is done the teacher will make the student come back and will again administer the ferule, unless the improper conduct ceases at once.
When correction is to be administered with the rod, the teacher will make the ordinary sign to attract the attention of the students, and will then indicate with the tip of the signal the rule that has been violated and immediately point to the place where it is the custom to receive this correction.
The student will at once go there and prepare to receive the correction in such a manner as not to be seen indecently by anyone. This practice of having the student himself prepare to receive the punishment without any assistence from the teacher will be very rigorously observed. If any student fails to do this, the punishment will be severe.
While the student is preparing to receive the correction, the teacher will also prepare inwardly to administer it in a spirit of charity and with thoughts fixed on God. The teacher will then calmly and sedately go to administer the correction.
The teacher may say a few words to dispose the student to receive the correction with humility, submission, and for the proper reason. After this, the teacher will give the usual three strokes.
Teachers will be careful not to lay their hands on the students for any reason whatsoever while they are correcting them. If the student is not yet ready, the teacher will return to the desk without saying anything. When the teacher does come back, the severest ordinary punishment will be administered, that is to say, five blows with the rod.
All the students will be instructed that they must be ready to receive punishment before the teacher comes and that if they are not ready then they will later receive five blows.
After waiting quietly a little while, the teacher will return to the student. If the student is not yet submissive and is not yet prepared, the teacher will proceed in the way described above for stubborn children. It is very important in such encounters to unite moderation with firmness.
When a student has been compelled to receive correction, the teacher will manage in some way at some later time to make the offender recognize and admit the fault. The student should be led to reflect and to make a strong and sincere resolution never to yield again to a similar obstinacy.
After having been corrected, the student will go and kneel modestly in the middle of the classroom in front of the teacher and, with crossed arms, to thank the teacher for having been corrected. The student will then turn toward the crucifix to thank God and to promise at the same time not to fall again into the fault for which the correction was administered, and will do this without speaking aloud. After this, the teacher will make a sign for the student to be seated.
ARTICLE VII
The Place for Administering Corrections; When
They Should and When They Should Not Be Administered
Teachers must never leave their places in the classroom to administer the ferule. Should any happen to be elsewhere, they will return there for this purpose.
Ordinary correction with the rod will be administered in one of the most remote and obscure places in the classroom where any nudity cannot be perceived by the others. Great care must be taken in regard to this matter. Also, care must be taken to inspire the students with a great horror of the least glance in that direction on these occasions. Extraordinary corrections, inflicted for certain particular faults that are very grave in comparison with others, such as stealing, disobeying, or resisting the teacher, should be publicly administered. That is to say, they should be administered in the presence of the students and in the middle of the classroom. This is done to give an example and to make a greater impression. It would even be useful to correct a student sometimes in all of the classrooms for very considerable and extraordinary faults.
Corrections must not be administered during Catechism or during the prayers. During these times the teacher can and should take particular note of those who have committed some fault, and without saying anything to them, should name them in a low tone to a reliable student, who will be instructed to remind the teacher at some other specified time. A teacher may, however, sometimes, but rarely and only if the teacher believes that it cannot be avoided, administer the ferule during Catechism. Corrections must not be made on Sundays and holy days.
It is better to give correction only in the afternoon and not in the morning, and never at the end of school.
It is also very important to do nothing in church or on the street that is seen as correction, for example, striking with the hand or pulling the ear or the arm. Such acts indicate impatience and are very contrary to the gravity and wisdom which a teacher should always show, particularly in these places.
ARTICLE VIII
Penances: Their Use, Their Qualities, and the
Manner of Imposing Them
Penances will be much more ordinarily used in the schools than corrections. They repel the student less, cause less distress to parents, and are much more useful.
The teachers will make use of them to humble their students and to bring them to a state of heart to correct themselves of their faults.
Penances should be remedial and proportioned to the faults committed. They should be administered to help students give satisfaction for their faults in the sight of God, and in the hope that they may be a preserving remedy to prevent repetition of the faults.
Teachers will take great care that the penances that they impose are in no way ridiculous and do not consist only of words, and will see that they be performed only in the classroom of the student who has committed the fault.
No penance will be imposed that might be prejudicial to the silence and good order of the school. Nothing that causes loss of time and that is useless should ever be given as a penance.
The teachers will impose no other penances than those which are approved for use in the schools and which are indicated in the following section. They will not impose extraordinary penances unless they have previously discussed them with the Director, who has given approval.
When the teacher imposes a penance this will be done while seated at his own place and with a very grave manner. This is done to inspire respect in the one who receives the penance and to make this student perform it with humility, with simplicity, and for the edification of the others.
When about to impose a penance the teacher will give the student the ordinary sign to kneel in the middle of the classroom, with hands joined as the teacher had also signaled. The teacher then will in a serious tone pronounce the penance and name the fault for which it is being imposed, without saying a single word more than required. The teacher will use the following or similar terms, in a loud, calm, and intelligible tone: "For having come to school late today, you will be among the first to come to school during the period of a week, and, if you fail to do so, you will be corrected." To be effective, this should be done when the student is least thinking of it.
After the penance has been imposed, the student will make a bow to thank the teacher, and will then remain some little time longer kneeling, facing the crucifix, to show God that the penance is accepted willingly and to ask of God the grace to perform the penance faithfully and for the love of God. Then, the student will be seated, if permission to do so has been given.
When penances are assigned to be performed at another time than that at which they are imposed, the teacher will delegate some of the students to watch over the one to whom the penance has been given. They are to observe whether the penance is performed or not, and they are to inform the teacher without fail.
Section I
List of Penances Which Are in Use and Can Be Imposed on the Students for Certain Faults
When students come late for a second time and through their own fault, they may instead of receiving a punishment be required as a penance to be at school as soon as the door is opened, for a period of a week or two. The inspector of the class will be instructed to notice whether these students are there or not.
When students are so engrossed in eating that they do not listen as attentively as they should to the prayers, the responses of Holy Mass, or the Catechism, they will be made to kneel for a certain time.
Students who make several mistakes in reading because they have not studied may be ordered to learn by heart something from the Diocesan Catechism or even a part of the lesson which has not yet been studied, which would be very appropriate. They may be ordered to read one or two pages according to their ability after all of the others have read. At the same time, students will be threatened with correction if they do not know the lesson better in the future. The amount that such students will be required to read will depend on the level of the lesson in which they are.
Students who do not follow during a lesson may be required as a penance to hold up a book and keep their eyes on it a half hour without looking elsewhere.
Those who have not written all that they should write or who have not applied themselves to doing it well, may be required as a penance to write one or two pages at home. What they write will consist of some particular letters, words, or phrases that have been indicated to them and which they must take pains to write well and bring the next time.
Those who have been lacking in decorum during the prayers or who have not prayed to God may be ordered to stand for one or more days in the middle of the classroom during the prayers. Their hands should be joined, their eyes should be lowered, and they should demonstrate great modestly. If they raise their eyes or commit any other breach of decorum, they will be corrected.
The same will be done with those who have been lacking in decorum in church. That is to say, they may be ordered the next day to keep their hands joined throughout all of the Holy Mass. They will do this without turning their heads, raising their eyes, or other similar things.
When students who are kneeling seat themselves back on their heels, they will be required to remain about a half hour kneeling in school, or they will be made to remain standing for some time with their hands joined and their eyes lowered or resting on the crucifix.
Those who lean on the table or who maintain lax or unseemly postures will be made to stand.
A student who has not remembered the Catechism lesson of the preceding day will be obliged to learn it and repeat it at the end of school without making a mistake or omitting anything. The student might be obliged to listen to the lesson of the day standing and with hands joined. The student might also be made to learn a lesson of the Catechism in one day, or in two, according to the student's capacity.
Students who do not know perfectly the Catechism lesson which is to be learned during the week will be obliged to learn it and repeat it on Monday or Tuesday perfectly without making a single mistake under penalty of a double correction and of continuing the same penance the following week.
Class officers who have not properly acquitted themselves of their duties may be punished by being deposed for some days and made to suffer some embarrassment.
The most appropriate penance and the one that is of the greatest utility is to give the students something to learn by heart.
5 These introductory remarks about correction are a significant change from what appeared in the 1706 manuscript of the Conduct of Christian Schools. At that time, only two brief paragraphs introduced the observations about correction. The introduction of 1706 can be found as EXTRACT NINE on page 000 in Appendix B.
BACK
|
