Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Back to Opinion

The Trumpets Did It

Not too many years ago, corporal punishment of students by their teachers was common. A popular song recalled, “School days, school days. Golden rule and school days. Reading and writing and ’rithmetic, taught to the tune of the hickory stick.” Since the 1970s, however, corporal punishment in any form has been outlawed in 28 states. In the remaining states, it is allowed but generally requires parental consent.

A recent case in North Carolina, where corporal punishment is still legal, has revived national concern about the practice. Parents gave permission for a teacher to paddle their “knuckleheaded” son. The spanking was so brutal that it turned the child’s backside into a mix of black and blue and red and other discolorations. The parent who had given consent now wants to outlaw corporal punishment.

A moment’s reflection suggests why corporal punishment is dangerous. Suppose the teacher is a sadist who enjoys using torture — as did some in our armed services who used such methods to extort information from detainees. Even worse, suppose the student is a masochist who enjoys the torture.

As I pondered the subject, I recalled a story from Yiddish folklore about the handling of an insolent student in a Talmud Torah school. The teacher turns to Irving and asks him, “Who tore down the walls of Jericho?” Irving answers, “I didn’t do it.”

The teacher is enraged by Irving’s insolence. He says that he wants to speak with Irving’s father. When the teacher meets with him and tells him what happened, Irving’s father says, “If Irving says he did not do it, you can believe him. He is very honest.” The teacher feels doubly insulted. He goes to the head of the school who calls a conference of all the parties, including the officers of the synagogue that sponsored the school. The meeting turns into a brawl. Finally, the president of the shul steps in. “Enough quarreling,” he says. “Let’s fix the walls. I’ll pay for it myself out of my own pocket.”

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.