Practical school discipline

by Ray Coppock Beery

Now, the application of the above principle to some concrete actions, that are much disputed as to whether they are wrong or not, must tend to satisfy the most doubting mind. If injury can be shown as the result of any action, that action must then be wrong. All must agree to this. Then, the discussion must lead to the results of these disputed actions. The first of these under consideration will be smoking. Every teacher can recall an instance where some boy worshipped a certain man because he found in him all those attributes that make a true man, except that the man smoked. But the boy held him as a hero, and because the man smoked, he believed there could be no harm in it. The influence of the man induced the boy to smoke. The moulding of a human life is the most important work in the world, and if this book can say something that will cause a teacher to feel a keener responsibility in his work and life than ever before, in the fulfilling of his most important position, then it will not have been written in vain.

Consider Weakness of Others

The teacher may argue that no harm came to him from smoking because he smoked moderately, and no harm can come to the boy if he will be moderate. But, the teacher cannot insure this influence of his action. Every sensible teacher must admit that there are not a few instances where positive harm has come to smokers. At this point it is well to say that the pipe, the cigar, chewing tobacco, and the exceptional snuffing of tobacco, are all related closely to the cigarette, which gets most of the blame for the harm done by tobacco. They are all evil and their use is immoral. That no teacher may be in doubt as to whether smoking a cigarette, a cigar or a pipe, or chewing and snuffing tobacco have evil results, it may be advisable to call attention to actual records of many concrete cases; and cases in which much harm has been suffered are not isolated, but are generally distributed. The records of any city superintendent of schools will reveal scores of cases of boys whose minds have been weakened, whose muscular organisms are shattered, whose nervous systems are irresponsive and beyond the boy’s control, in fact, whose entire lives are wrecks, because they indulged in the use of tobacco. Every user of tobacco, at first, is a moderate user, but the evil habit leads to demoralization and excessiveness. Any juvenile judge can cite many instances of boys who were brought into the juvenile court, because their minds were depraved and their passions all out of restraint, because the use of tobacco had had its evil effect upon the boys’ minds. If the reader will concede that some evil comes from the use of tobacco, then the argument is complete; for any action that necessarily has evil results is wrong, therefore, immoral and the teacher has no right to perform that act.

Gossiping

No one questions the fact that gossiping and its attendant indulgences, loafing, are evils. Nevertheless, teachers are too prone to indulge themselves, thereby profoundly influencing their school associates in no good way. It should be above every teacher to gossip about anyone. When the time comes to report an insubordinate or bad pupil to the superintendent or to the board of education, the facts should be told and no more. The teacher—man or woman—has no right to report the evil of one pupil to another pupil or to patrons or parents, even to members of his or her immediate family. A safe rule to follow, is this: “If one can say nothing good about anyone, say nothing at all.” This brings up the question, can a teacher, with propriety, gossip about other teachers, neighbors, patrons and parents? No. It is degrading. Avoid it. The city club, the social gathering, the proverbial “husking bee,” the quilting, or “gathering” of any kind is too often the hotbed where gossip thrives. A teacher cannot afford to share in it. Better than take part, keep silent. It is bad enough to listen.

Association with Loafers

Many a man teacher has thought in order to be a good mixer, he must be friendly, or social and linger with the drug store crowd, or stop at the street corner—where usually the loafers congregate—to take part in the conversation. Not always, but generally the topic of conversation is idle gossip, or worse than that, “smutty” stories are being told. To listen is immoral; to indulge is worse. But, should the teacher pass by without even so much as noticing the crowd? By no means. He should cultivate the good will of all, even of the street corner gangs. Then what must he do? He can give a friendly greeting and make a pleasant remark, turning the tide of conversation toward right channels.

The story is told of Ulysses S. Grant, that when he was a boy, he came one evening into one of the grocery stores of his home town, Galesburg, Ill., and soon after entering, heard one of the loafers say, he would tell a certain story if there were no women in the store. The idler craned his neck and asked if there were any women near. At this point, the youthful Grant said, “No, but there is a gentleman present.” The story was not told. The writer recalls a superintendent of schools, who attended a Men’s Church Banquet and told such offensive stories that even men, who before thought little about telling an objectionable story, were disgusted. The influence of this superintendent was so extensive that he led many others to tell evil stories. The boys of the entire school, as a consequence, were addicted to this vicious habit. Many of them admitted to the writer the evil habit, and pointed to the superintendent as the one who had influenced them to do what they considered evil and immoral.

Further admission from the boys revealed that many of the girls told shockingly offensive stories and that some of the boys followed the evil stories by the evil actions suggested. All because one man did not have the moral stamina required of a decent teacher and superintendent. To conclude, no teacher—man or woman—can afford to gossip, to talk about anything, except that which the most refined and exacting mind may hear without criticism.

There can be no question as to the impropriety of idle gossip and bad stories, but there may be included the so-called “yarn,” and attempts at humor designed to create laughter at the expense of a friend on account of unavoidable defects, affected speech, “smart” expressions, and the like. To the average child the above deviations from the correct usage of language are repulsive. There are teachers who have the happy characteristics of being humorous and can employ that trait to good advantage but it should not be attempted, if it causes an auditor pain. The teacher should use only good English; that is, pure English which will serve the teacher who is inclined to indulge in trivialities of speech.