A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching School, Chapter 8

A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching School · Chapter 8

p. 272CHAP. VIII.

Of the Monitors Bill; and of rewards and puniſhments in a Grammar-Schoole.

THat no diſorder or vice committed either at Schoole, Church, or elſewhere, may paſſe un-noted by the Maſter; he may cauſe his Scholars in the two upper Forms, to play the Monitors in their weekly turns, from Friday to Friday.

They may make one Bill to ſerve for all the week, proportionable to the number of Scholars of every Form, after this manner.

p. 274Wherein you ſee the letters above denoting the dayes of the week, the letters on the ſide ſhew the place where every Scholars name ſhould be written, and the pricks within the lines, how every default may eaſily be marked with a pin, or a pen. So that,

1. This Bill may ſerve as a Catalogue to be called over every day at Schoole-houres to know who are abſent, and may ſave a deale of trouble in making little notes of Scholars frequent miſdemeanours.

2. If you cauſe every Bill to be dated, and keep them by you, you may know at any time who is the ſhrewdeſt, or moſt orderly boy amongſt the reſt, and give publick notice accordingly, that the one may be admoniſhed to amend his manners, and the other encouraged to go on in well-doing.

3. Beſides, it will work the greater awe among all the Scholars, when they ſhall know every fault they commit whilſt they are at the Schoole will be upon Record, though the Maſter doth never puniſh it.

4. You ſhall finde it a meanes of much eaſe to your ſelfe, when you ſhall need onelyonly to bid the Monitor t…ke notice of a neglect, or fault committed and let it ſo remaine, till ſome fitter p. 275opportunity or juſt occaſion invite or or (rather) enforce you to call to a reckoning.

5. For when you perceive any generall diſorder, or ſome groſſe thing is done, which ought not to eſcape correction. you may call for the Bill, and then cenſure thoſe onelyonly for example, whom you finde to be moſt often, and notoriouſly peccant, ſuffering the reſt (that you called forth) to eſcape with an admonition to beware for the future.

Thus you ſhall gain your Scholars affections, when they ſhall ſee you unwilling to puniſh any without great cauſe; & avoid that common out-cry which is wont to be made againſt a Schoole-maſter, upon report of a multitude of boyes being whipt at once.

6. So many pricks as are found upon any boyes name, may be ſaid to deſerve ſo many jerks; but herein much diſcretion is to be uſed, that you ſeem not too ſevere, nor prove too partial. You may ſometimes tell your Scholars what faults deſerve more or fewer pricks; as idleneſſe one, wandring forth one, fighting three; ſwearing, four, or the like: which are to be noted in the Bill more or leſſe, according to the nature of the faults themſelves.

He that is publick Monitor in one of the p. 276two higheſt Forms may appoint two private Monitors to himſelf in every other Form, which may give him ſecret information of every miſmedeanour committed in any place; and this will be an eſpecial meanes to keep all in very good order, with ſeldome and moderate correction; a thing to be deſired by every Schoole-Maſter for his own e{aſe, and his Scholars better encouragement.

Thoſe Scholars in every Form, which are indeed the moſt ſtudious and diligent in their taskes, and conſtantly obſervant to keep good order, ſhould often be commended to their fellowes, as patterns for them to imitat; and when any one hath performed any task or exerciſe better then ordinary, he ſhould receive ſome ſmall gift at his Maſters hand, as a new pen-knife, or a paper-book, or the like ſignal Teſtimony of the Maſters appprobation of what he hath done. Thoſe Parents which are of more ability, may do well to allow the Maſter a ſmall ſum of money to reward their ſonnes diligence now and then, and to excite them to the better performances of their taskes and exerciſes, which will invite them to go faſter on in learning, then a rod can drive them.

As for inflicting puniſhments even upon the meaneſt & worſt of children, it ſhould p. 277ever be the moſt unwilling piece of work that a Maſter can take in hand; and therefore he ſhould not be haſty to puniſh any fault, whereof the Scholar hath not been praemoniſhed, except it be ſuch a notorious crime, as a boy cannot but know before-hand; that he ought not to have done it. As for the Ferula, I wiſh (& as I have already done) for many reaſons, which it is needleſs to commit to paper, that it might be utterly baniſhed out of all Schooles. A good ſharp birchen rod, and free from knot…; (for willow wands are unſufferable, and fitter for a Bedlam then a School) as it will break no bones, nor endanger any limbs, ſo it will be ſufficient wherewith to correct thoſe that ſhall deſerve it in the lower forms, and for the higher Scholars, that will not behave as they ought to do, without blowes; a good ſwitch about their ſhoulders would (in Quintilian's judgement) ſeem fitter then a rod elſewhere; and his reaſon is ſo modeſtly agreeable to nature, that as I am loth to mention it, ſo I wonder that it hath not more prevailed with many diſcreet Schoole-Maſters, who (I perſwade my ſelfe) have often read it, & cannot but approve of it as moſt Chriſtian, however it dropt from a Heathens pen, But Nobilis equus umbra virgae regitur. Ingenuous and towardly p. 278Scholars will not need ſo much as the ſhadow of a rod. And towards others that ſeem to extort a rod from the Maſter, whether he will or not, and (as I may ſay) will enforce him to fight, he ſhould generally uſe ſuch clemency in his hand, as not to exceed three laſhes; in the laying on of which, he may contribute more or leſs weight, with reſpect to the demerits of the fault. But of this he ſhould alway make ſure, that he never let the offender go from him with a ſtubborn look, or a ſtomachful geſture, much leſs with a ſquealing out-cry, or muttering to himſelfe; all which may be eaſily taken off with another ſmart jerk or or two: but you ſhould rather let him ſtand aſide a little, and ſee how his ſtomach will ſettle.

That a boy may at once know you dare adventure to whip him, and withall, how little you delight in his skin; you may at ſome time, when he hath cauſe to think that he hath well deſerved a whipping, and when you have him ready for the rod, paſs him over with an admonition to beware another time; and if he again be peccant in the ſame kinde, you may give him more cauſe at preſent to remember both his faults together, and for the future to avoid them.

This even and indifferent carriage in p. 279rewards and puniſhments, will make theſe Scholars that have any ingenuity in them, leſs willing to offend, and incline the reſt to behave more dutifully, becauſe they ſee their Maſter beare ſuch a loving minde towards them all, and to be ſharp in puniſhing none, but thoſe that know they well deſerved what blowes they had.

As for thoſe boyes that do ſlight good order, and are apt to ſtirre up others to reject them, (which are uſually thoſe of bigger ſtature,) that perhaps, have n…t been acquainted with your Teaching or Government, or know they ſhall ſhortly remove from under your command) or thoſe that without any cauſe love to truant it abroad, or by other licentious demeanor bring diſgrace to your Schoole, or offer any affronts to your ſelfe; I conceive your beſt way is (at a fitting opportunity) to ſend for their Parents, or friends, with 1 or 2 Judicious neighbours to be by (where there are no Governours of the School) & to let them juſtly know the fault, and adjudge what puniſhment ſuch a boy deſerveth; but if the Parents be unwilling to have him corrected for his peremptory diſorders, chooſe rather to ſend him home with them, then retain him any longer to the diſturbance of the Schoole or your own unquiet. This you ſhall finde as an eſpecial remedy to p. 280prevent ſuch clamorous out-cries of ſuppoſed Tyranny, when every jerk that is given to a notorious unhappy boy for his inſolent misbehaviour, ſhall chance to be multiplyed in the relating, (like Scoggins Crowes) from three to thirty. Which baſe obloquie and miſ-report, what hinderance it bringeth to the flouriſhing of a Schoole, and what unſeemly diſgrace to a worthy Maſter, I need not mention.

But, becauſe ſuch boyes as theſe ſometimes are apt to take it as an argument of the Maſters puſillanimity, thus to ſend for their Parents, who generally do not love to heare of their childrens faults; the Maſter may take an occaſion, where he ſees adamonitions will not prevaile, to watch them more ſtrictly at every turn, and having found them to have committed ſome groſſe enormity, to chaſtiſe them more ſmartly then ordinarily, yet ſo as to ſhew no rigour. And if after that he perceive them wilfully to ruſh into the ſame acts of lewdneſſe, let him fairly turne them out of his Schoole, and ſignify the cauſe to their friends: at whoſe entreaties he ſhould never take them again, except they will engage to forfeit a ſum of money to be beſtowed in publick Books, in caſe they offend in that nature again.

As for the leſſer ſort of children, that p. 281are apt to reiterate the ſame fault too often, for which they have ſometimes been already corrected; your ſureſt way to reclaim them is, after you have once given them warning, to whip them for a fault, and if that will do no good, to double your ſtrokes the ſecond time; but if a third time they come under the rod, and beg heartily for pardon, (as commonly then they will do, fearing leſt their puniſhment ſhould be tripled) you ſhould not let them paſs, except they can procure two of your more orderly boys, or one that is in your favour for his conſtant well-doing, to give their words for them, and to engage to be whipt for them, if ever they do the like. If you ſee they get ſureties to your likeing, you may let them eſcape ſo; but if they cannot, you may adventure to take their own ſingle words; and the care of their ſureties, and fear to diſpleaſe you again, will ſo work upon them, that they will ſeldom or never do the like afterwards.

Such faults as are vitiouſly enormous, are to be duely puniſhed with a rod, according as the obliquity of the will appeareth in them, more or leſs; as for ſuch as are committed for want of underſtanding, they are to be remedied by due inſtruction, but thoſe that ſeem to offend through lazineſs, and careleſs neglect, ſhould be abridged p. 282of deſired liberty, when others have leave to play. The ſhutting of children up for a while into a dark room, and depriving them of a meals meat, or the like (which are uſed in ſome Tabling Schools) as they are not of good report, ſo they cannot be commendably or conveniently uſed in our greater Schooles.

But theſe things I leave to the diſcretion of every prudent Maſter, who is able to judg of every particular action by its ſeveral circumſtances, & to take ſuch courſe as he ſees beſt availeable for the orderly management of his own Schoole, eſpecially where he is not tied to any Rules of Government.