A row about corporal punishment in an approved school; an argument in every home in the country; head-masters in conference vote overwhelmingly to retain the cane; parents in difficulty struggle to find a way to discipline. In schools and homes just how should those charged with authority and welfare punish? Many parents give up, surrender to the idea of permissiveness, live uncomfortably with the results of indiscipline. Alternatively, another form of parental surrender: teachers in both boarding and day schools are expected to take over from parents, solve the problem of how to control the unruly young, discover whether it is best to persuade, or punish, or beat.