NRS-16959 | Punishment Books [Minimbah 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 Minimbah Public School is represented at present by a single volume, printed in or after 1951. The first page heading has been filled in with the name of the school, but no punishment has ever been recorded in this volume. The whereabouts of the volume or volumes of this series dating from before the school’s temporary closure from 1947 to 1952 are not now known.

1866年《公立学校法》（Public Schools Act of 1866）项下的管理条例，经教育委员会（Council of Education）于1867年2月27日审议通过，对学校内儿童的惩戒管理作出明确规范，其中规定："在学生管理工作中，须杜绝一切有辱人格且具有伤害性的惩戒手段。教师的管教方式应温和而坚定，态度须和蔼可亲，举止应积极愉悦，旨在赢得学生的信任，其言语表达需严格合乎礼仪规范。教师虽不应放过任何违纪行为，但其核心目标应是通过感化违纪者，从根源上避免惩戒的必要性。"关于体罚（corporal punishment），该条例进一步补充规定："体罚仅可在极端情形下作为最后手段实施；教师须留存相关记录，载明遭受体罚的学生的受罚时间、地点、惩戒强度以及违纪性质。"为契合该条例的合规要求，标准化的惩戒记录册应运而生。此类惩戒记录册为所有实施体罚的学生案例的登记档案，其所记录的信息包括：学生姓名、年龄、违纪性质、惩戒强度（即鞭打次数）、呈报人、受罚日期以及施惩者。Minimbah公立学校的该系列档案目前仅存一册，其印制时间为1951年或之后。该册首页的标题栏已填写学校名称，但册内从未录入任何惩戒记录。该系列中1947年至1952年学校临时停课之前的相关册籍，目前均已下落不明。