Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Published Writings
  3. Periodicals
  4. Journalism
  5. per.01023

Whipping in Schools

About This Item

  • Title: Whipping in Schools
  • Date: 30 June 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01023
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 30 June 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Samantha Gilmore Thara Michaelis Cassandra Jannel Simms Stefan Schöberlein Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Whipping in Schools." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01023.xml (TEI)
image 1image 2image 3image 4cropped image 1

Whipping in Schools

In Iowa the State Teachers' Association recommend the use of the rod in schools, and add,

“When applied, it should be done vigorously, [cut away]ghly, and effectually; the instrument, the old-fashioned birchen rod, or as that can not be procured in all parts of Iowas, the kind of rod is immaterial.”

If this is a specimen of them, we have to suspect the Teachers in Iowa are a poor set, [cut away]y the responsible offices of instruction. No man or woman fit to be a teacher, but can [cut away] or woman fit to be a teacher, but can [cut away] children easily and perfectly, on all occasions without any resort to the degrading punishment of the rod, lash, ferule and the [cut away] But many teachers are morally and personally incompetent.

Back to top