They beat pupils as well, don't they?

The Boštanj affair in 1953

Abstract

In his contribution, the author deals with the affair from 1953 triggered by a newspaper article in the newspaper Slovenski poročevalec in which the case of the teacher Josipina Papež from Boštanj who presumably beat up to the blood several children was described. The teacher was prior to the event punished by the disciplinary court because of her unsuitable educational methods; however, the authorities did not take any action in order to prevent further excesses at school. At the Boštanj affair a broader discussion in public and in the media developed. Because of sensationalist writing in Slovenski poročevalec, some educational workers considered the polemic a frontal attack on teachers. The editorial board of Slovenski poročevalec took a lopsided standpoint and did not want to publish the opposite views. The markedly black-white estimations of the event were surpassed by the commission established for the investigation of circumstances at the Boštanj school by the state agency in competence, the Svet za prosveto in kulturo Slovenije (Council for education and culture of the Republic of Slovenia).