Classroom Discipline or Cruelty?
A principal faces an ethics investigation after parents allege he whipped a 12-year-old student until he was bruised.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Olympia, Wash.—A petition signed by twenty-five residents of the west side protesting against the re-election of Frank D. Cooke as principal of the Garfield school in this city has been filed with the Olympia school board. The petitioners allege incompetency and assert that Professor Cooke whipped Hartford Keyes, a 12-year-old boy, until he was black and blue in order to bring him to tears. Professor Cooke was re-elected to the head of the Garfield school several weeks ago and the open opposition has just cropped out. The board was to have met Monday afternoon and taken the matter up, but a quorum was not here. Half a dozen petitioners appeared before the minority of the board and gave their testimony and the cause will be settled as soon as a full meeting of the board can be held. Cooke formerly taught in Tumwater. He is comparatively young and is married. He is said to have a number of staunch supporters who will present his side of the case.
“The petitioners allege incompetency and assert that Professor Cooke whipped Hartford Keyes, a 12-year-old boy, until he was black and blue.”
The debate over the limits of corporal punishment in public schools was a recurring flashpoint in early 20th-century civic life. While the methods have changed, contemporary school board meetings still struggle with the same core tension: balancing the authority of administrators against the demands of parents for accountability and the safety of their children.
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