At school. (did it happen to you?)

[caroljoyce]

When I think about my school days and what they were like, I'm amazed that we took the treatment teachers dished out to us. Once I was sent to the headmistress to be struck across my hand with a leather strap because I had been naughty. My crime... talking when I should have been quiet.... It really hurt too!!

It got me wondering if there are any kids our generation who didn't receive a physical punishment at school.

How many of you were caned/strapped and what for?

[Tiddles]

How many of you were caned/strapped and what for?

I was once caned for being tripped up on a school sports day - the toad of a teacher said I was fighting (which was not the case)

[Monika]

I was struck across my left hand with a three foot rule when I was 8. The teacher had said silence; the girl sitting next to me had asked me a question and I either said yes or no and was caught doing that.

My whole hand swelled up, and my little finger and the adjoining one, were twice the size and dark blue. I had to be helped on with my coat to go home.

The teacher turned up at our house later on and went to the doctor's with Mum and me, saying that he would pay the costs for any treatment. (1944 and no NHS then)

It's a pity there was no suing in those days as the doctor said he didn't think it was damaged only bruised and I have had to live with a damaged finger ever since.

In later life it was examined and I was told that the ligament was damaged. The tip of my little finger bends upwards at a ridiculous angle and I can only straighten it by pushing it down with my other hand.

Looking back at my schooldays, I can remember quite a number of teachers who were clearly short of the full shilling when it came to being well-rounded individuals - and some were most definitely controlling sadists.

[toolip2]

I remember a boy called Billy Collins who was regularly hit on the bottom in front of the class by a Mr Jones the maths teacher. He whacked him with a plimsol. The class hooted with laughter as did Billy as he returned to his seat. I t happenned nearly every maths class.

I used to believe in corporal punishment in the class room but noit now and I think that many teachers were sadistic perverts who got off on it all!!

[Victors Mate]

Our headmaster at Grammar school had his own way of dealing with teachers he thought were overstepping the mark. He chose them to play in the annual Masters v first 15 rugby match. One master who was a sadist ended up having to have several stitches for a cut he “accidently” got in a scrummage incident.

[Rowan]

I think that hitting children only teaches them that might is right and it just isn't. In the past we had teachers who were sadists and perverts and I for one am glad to see an end to it.

My mother would have gone mad if we were hit at school - there wouldn't have been anywhere for them to hide!!

[Dragon Lady]

My junior school teacher was a sadist. Her favourite method of punishment was to whack you across the ear. She also brought a really thick, heavy ruler down on my knuckles once. The pain was horrendous. Only one mother ever complained and that was because a whack around the ear caused her daughter to be awake all night with ear ache.

I don't believe that teachers should be allowed to carry out corporal punishment for the general run of the mill misdemeanours. Only maybe in the case where a pupil is very violent against either another pupil or a staff member. A taste of their own medicine might do that sort of child a bit of good.

I do believe teachers should, in other ways, have more power than most of them do now, it seems there is little or no discipline in some schools.

[dita]

If we did not pay attention to what the teacher was writing on the blackboard the chalk, followed swiftly by board rubber would come flying across at a great rate of knots, it had a wooden back and always hit its target. Lines was issued by the thousand to me for talking and you can guess what the words were cos it was given at most schools.
For anyone who does'nt know" I Must Not Talk" must have been toooooooo good.

[Maywalk]

I had MORE punishment in the Sisters of Mercy home than I ever had at school.
I was turned 7yrs old when I finally went back home but while in the home I had the broom handle across my back because I had left a little drop of water on the floor that I had been set to wash. I had one eye covered with a patch due to poor vision so it was difficult to see at the best of times. Plus having my thumb nail taken off in a big heavy door because the Sister in charge just let the door go as I was hanging on to the side to get up the step.
She KNEW I was behind her.
Another punishment suffered was to be locked in a small broom cupboard for anything up to six hours for any small misdemeanour such as talking when lining up for our gruel in the mornings or anything that the Sister in charge did not approve of.

My schooling when I came out of the home was interrupted many times after that because WW2 started not long after I got settled at a new school and it was a case of diving under the desk when enemy planes were over head.

My evacuee schooling was excellent in my opinion because we had a teacher who was very good at all subjects and although she was strict she was also very fair.
We had three teachers for 150 evacuee children of all ages in the makedo very small chapel that was set aside for us.
One was the headmistress plus her sister was also a teacher and the authorities brought a teacher out of retirement who was going blind to teach the little ones.
She used to have two of the older girls to help her each day so we got through that way.
I passed my 11+ there but my parents could not afford the money or the coupons for the uniform to send me to Grammar school.
I left there with this written report that I still have.

http://www.memorylanehf.oddquine.co.uk/children2.htm

[mo]

No never got hit. I was a good girl I was.

Joking aside, the teachers would stand you in a corner for ages at our school or make you stand outside of the classroom.
Sometimes you had a wack with a ruler on the back of your knees.

[Steve]

Got hit a lot as did others. I remember Mrs Brown to this day. I was in primary 4 and we were knitting squares for blankets. I commented on someone elses and got 6 of the belt across me hands. That night when I was having a bath my mother saw the black and blue marks all the way up to my inner elbow. She went right over to the school the next day and read the riot act.

In this day and age Mrs. Brown would have been jailed.

My sister got slapped on her ear by a Teacher called Mr.Alexander. My sister was my old mans blue eyed girl. My old man said Alexander was a German name. My old man was Polish. Mr Alexander never saw what hit him. The police did not press charges.

At secondary we had a teacher called Mr.Ingram and he used to put a thruppent bit on the desk and quick draw his belt from under his jacket and sink the bit into the desk. He simply loved using the belt. He left me really bruised after giving me six for getting something wrong. My arm was a right mess. My old man made him apologize to me in front of the whole class and then took his belt off him. I got no further trouble from Mr. Ingram.

Yes in my day the belt/strap was used readily and the techers seemed to enjoy inflicting pain.

[Dragon Lady]

Oh if only all our parents had taken similar action, Steve. Quite often I find myself daydreaming about Miss Mayes and me thumping her back - I wish!

[toolip2]

I recall kids standing outside the head teachers office waitng for her to appear. also kids standing in a corner face to the wall with a red pointed dunces cap on fat lot of good this ever did IMO!!

[Oddquine]

Got belted a couple of times.......but if I had told my folks..they'd have belted me again.

Can't remember why now......but sure as hell I was playing silly buggers for the umpty umpth time after being warned.

But having said that..no sadists at either of my schools......Stung a bit, but never marked me.

The only time I remember a belting was one time the whole class bar me and a mate got belted (because we remembered our science homework in time to do it in the cloakroom at lunchtime )