Corpun file 7255

The News, Adelaide, 11 June 1959

Only one says he'd strap schoolgirls

MELBOURNE, Today: Should schoolgirls get the strap?

The Education Department says"No."

The Victorian Teachers' Union says"No."

The Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association says"No."

But one teacher, a member of the Secondary Teachers' Association, thinks they should.

He is one of 250 teachers asked by the association to give their opinions on corporal punishment.

He said if boys can be strapped then girls should suffer as well. In fact, the worst girls were worse than the worst boys!

But his ideas will not be put into practice.

The chief inspector of secondary schools, Mr. G.R. Mills, said: "Girls in our 198 secondary schools are never strapped. It is against the regulations."

As far as he knew, the department had never had a report of a teacher strapping a girl, Mr. Mills said.

Big problem

The secretary of the Victorian Teachers' Union, Mr. D. Schubert, said: "We agree with the Education Department that corporal punishment should not be used on girls."

Teachers in State, private, secondary, and technical schools used it -- on boys -- only in cases of grave misconduct.

The secretary of the VSTA Mr. R.O. Desailly, said that the teacher's opinion was not that of the association.

He added that the survey showed that the problem of discipline in schools had been a concern of teachers for some time.

The problem was accentuated by conditions of overcrowding and depleted staffs.

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Corpun file 7256

The News, Adelaide, 16 June 1969

Other People's Opinions

Spare the rod?

WITH regard to the recent Victorian survey on corporal punishment, I agree that the indiscriminate strapping of schoolgirls is not to be desired. But I feel strongly that women teachers should be given the right to deal with exceptional cases.

The knowledge that strapping would be the reward for repeated acts of gross misconduct could be a most effective deterrent.

DOUGLAS HILL
North Adelaide.