Corpun file 24628 at www.corpun.com

Daily Mail, London, 17 April 1914, p.6

Teachers' Right to Cane.

Resolution agreed to.

Click to enlarge

The "right to cane" resolution came before the conference of the National Union of Teachers towards the close of its session at Lowestoft yesterday and was agreed to.

The resolution, declaring that the right to administer corporal punishment was a common right which rested in every teacher, and not restrictively in the head teacher, publicly proclaimed the right, and desired the executive immediately to request the Board of Education to state definitely to local education authorities that the teachers had the right and must not be interfered with by local regulations.

It further urged that, failing the agreement of the Board of Education, the certificated members of the union should have the authority of the union in regard to their position to enforce discipline, when necessary, to the extent which the law allowed, all local rules to the contrary notwithstanding

Lady Stradbroke, attending a union gathering at Lowestoft in the afternoon, gave the teachers her children's views on the caning question.

"We have been following your discussions in the newspapers and have shared our reading of the debates with our boys, who are in school. The paper on the subject of caning they could not grasp at all. They seemed o think that caning was only natural and was superior to scolding and punishment tasks. They could not think what there was to discuss on this subject. (Laughter.)