NRS-16978 | Punishment Books [Rothbury Public School]

Regulations under the Public Schools Act of 1866, adopted by the Council [of Education] 27 February 1867 regulated the punishment of children in schools by stipulating: “In the government of the pupils, all degrading and injurious punishments are to be avoided. The Teacher’s discipline must be mild but firm, his manner kindly, his demeanour cheerful and calculated to gain the confidence of his pupils, and his language marked by strict propriety. While he should overlook no offence, his aim should be to prevent the necessity for punishment by the improvement of the offender.”In relation to corporal punishment the regulations continue: “Corporal punishment should be inflicted in extreme cases only, and then as a last resource; and the teacher must keep a record of the time and place at which pupils were corporally chastised, the amount of such punishment and the nature of the offence.”Uniform stationery soon evolved to enable compliance with these regulations. These punishment books are registers of all cases in which corporal punishment was given to pupils. The information it details includes: the pupil’s name; age; nature of offence; amount of punishment (i.e. number of strokes); by whom sent; the date of the punishment; and by whom the punishment was inflicted.The series from Rothbury Public School is currently represented only by its final volume, which covers the period from 1907 until the school’s closure in 1964.

1866年《公立学校法案》项下的条例由[教育委员会（Council of Education）]于1867年2月27日通过，对学校内惩戒学生的行为作出如下规定："在管理学生时，应避免所有有辱人格且有害的惩戒方式。教师的管教应当温和而坚定，态度友善，举止愉悦，以赢得学生的信任，其言行需严格得体。教师虽不应放过任何违纪行为，但他的核心目标应是通过感化违纪者，从根源上避免惩戒的必要。"关于体罚，该条例进一步规定："体罚仅应在极端情况下实施，且需作为最后手段；教师必须记录下学生遭受体罚的时间、地点、惩戒力度以及违纪性质。"为了符合这些规定，统一格式的惩戒登记本应运而生。此类惩戒登记簿用于登记所有对学生实施体罚的案例，其记录内容包括：学生姓名、年龄、违纪性质、惩戒力度（即鞭打次数）、发起者、惩戒日期以及施惩者。罗斯伯里公立学校的该系列档案目前仅存最后一卷，其覆盖时段为1907年至1964年学校停办之时。