Charles Spencer - Anyone else suffer "abuse"?
Discussion
Wasn't it common in *any* school to get t
tted prior to corporal punishment being outlawed (late 80s?) ? I distinctly remember getting slapped on the arm/top of the head by a primary school teacher in the 80s, albeit it wasn't painful or anything more than a nuisance. Undoubtedly the level of violence increases the further you go back in decades.
tted prior to corporal punishment being outlawed (late 80s?) ? I distinctly remember getting slapped on the arm/top of the head by a primary school teacher in the 80s, albeit it wasn't painful or anything more than a nuisance. Undoubtedly the level of violence increases the further you go back in decades.MitchT said:
PE teachers were all aholes when I was at school. The male ones were bullies and the female ones all seemed to be man-haters who appeared to have pursued that career path purely so they could take their angst out on boys. And, of course, contact sports provided the perfect opportunity for the nasty kids to give everyone else a good kicking. PE lessons are the most significant reason that I Iove the fact that I'm no longer at school - they were an acutely miserable experience. I wasn't a lazy kid who hated exercise either - I spent most of my weekends up mountains and a lot of my weekday evenings running with a local athletics club which has consistently produced Olympic athletes over many decades.
I went to secondary school in the 90's, so things had "improved" significantly by then, but I still remember PE being the odd-one-out when it came to teacher attitudes. I seem to recall the class would spend more time doing laps of the field than actually kicking a football, purely because the PE teacher seemed to think collective punishment was the best solution to dealing with troublemakers. So 1 kid would act up, and we'd all be sent round the field again.holes when I was at school. The male ones were bullies and the female ones all seemed to be man-haters who appeared to have pursued that career path purely so they could take their angst out on boys. And, of course, contact sports provided the perfect opportunity for the nasty kids to give everyone else a good kicking. PE lessons are the most significant reason that I Iove the fact that I'm no longer at school - they were an acutely miserable experience. I wasn't a lazy kid who hated exercise either - I spent most of my weekends up mountains and a lot of my weekday evenings running with a local athletics club which has consistently produced Olympic athletes over many decades.Edited by MitchT on Monday 18th March 11:26
It was also very much a case of spending all the time with the more gifted sportsmen, the ones who get picked last would get left down the end on the makeshift pitches/courts and left to themselves for most of the lesson.
Had one particularly unpleasant t
t who most of us hated, turned out he wasn't very good at most sport but had a thing for water polo. If we weren't all being hauled out the pool and made to line up on the side while he shouted at us for 1 person mucking around, he seemed to relish forcing everyone down the deep end and stopping the weaker swimmers from holding on to the edge of the pool.Personally I was in the category of "less gifted" when it came to sport, but there was one PE teacher (IIRC Mr Howell) who bucked the trend - didn't have the chip on his shoulder that was common with most PE teachers, had a very calm demeanour, absolutely awesome and divided his time equally among everyone. Managed to nuture a half decent goalkeeper out of me, and became reasonably handy with a cricket bat because of him.
Olivera said:
Wasn't it common in *any* school to get ttted prior to corporal punishment being outlawed (late 80s?)
Per Wikipedia: Corporal punishment was prohibited in all state-supported education in 1986. The prohibition was extended to cover private schools in England and Wales in 1998, in Scotland in 2000, and in Northern Ireland in 2003.tted prior to corporal punishment being outlawed (late 80s?) SS427 Camaro said:
Our second games teacher was an ex Army / ex Plod guy by the name of Munt. He drove a blue Mini van complete with a crazy Alsatian in the back ! I well recall walking out of morning assembly in Big School one morning, on his first day @ school, seeing him standing by the exit door, him focusing his steel cold eyes @ me and him barking to me agressivly “ Do Your Tie UP boy !! “
I knew then that yet another nutter had stepped into our lives.
He used to park his Mini van in the school grounds outside one of the old buildings classrooms and one boy tapping on the side of the van. The Alsatian went into a frenzy, launching itself @ the sides of the van. We legged it before Munt came out !
One day, he suddenly ordered a group of about 10 of us, to take our shoes & socks off for “ inspection of the feet “
He then proceeded to look closely @ our feet & toes, singling out my pal Ian & 2 other boys. He then ordered all 3 up to his office, where he beat them with a slipper. In my minds ear I can Still hear the boys cries and the whump of that slipper.
He was lodging @ the Jacobean mansion of one of my class mates Simon and I well recall Simon saying “ Mum washes Munts Jock Strap “ lol
In his class one day, whilst examining the Silva compass’s that we had been ordered to buy, he anounced that “ we were going to be dropped into Epping Forest by Helicopter as part of “ orienteering classes “ I can still see the look of utter horror on most of my class mates faces, me however couldn’t wait ! Sadly it never happened.
He had told us to “ attach lanyards “ to our compass’s and I had used a lanyard from a .455 Webley pistol. On seeing it, his face lit up and he said “ Where did you get that from boy “ ?? I explained that my Gun dealer Dad had given it me. He immediately asked if I could “get him some ammo for his .38 pistol ? “ His attitude toward me changed immediately after that. However, there were So many complaints about him by the parents, particularly over the “ dirty feet “ episode, that he was sacked after only 4 or 5 months.
I’ve often wondered what became of him……
I want to set a dog on you for using @ everywhere.I knew then that yet another nutter had stepped into our lives.
He used to park his Mini van in the school grounds outside one of the old buildings classrooms and one boy tapping on the side of the van. The Alsatian went into a frenzy, launching itself @ the sides of the van. We legged it before Munt came out !
One day, he suddenly ordered a group of about 10 of us, to take our shoes & socks off for “ inspection of the feet “
He then proceeded to look closely @ our feet & toes, singling out my pal Ian & 2 other boys. He then ordered all 3 up to his office, where he beat them with a slipper. In my minds ear I can Still hear the boys cries and the whump of that slipper.
He was lodging @ the Jacobean mansion of one of my class mates Simon and I well recall Simon saying “ Mum washes Munts Jock Strap “ lol
In his class one day, whilst examining the Silva compass’s that we had been ordered to buy, he anounced that “ we were going to be dropped into Epping Forest by Helicopter as part of “ orienteering classes “ I can still see the look of utter horror on most of my class mates faces, me however couldn’t wait ! Sadly it never happened.
He had told us to “ attach lanyards “ to our compass’s and I had used a lanyard from a .455 Webley pistol. On seeing it, his face lit up and he said “ Where did you get that from boy “ ?? I explained that my Gun dealer Dad had given it me. He immediately asked if I could “get him some ammo for his .38 pistol ? “ His attitude toward me changed immediately after that. However, there were So many complaints about him by the parents, particularly over the “ dirty feet “ episode, that he was sacked after only 4 or 5 months.
I’ve often wondered what became of him……
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 18th March 09:13
Anyway, we had a sadist teacher in the 80's who was clearly on the path to redemption because when he joined the school (in the 70's) he was a paedo. Fortunately it all caught up with him and he's in prison now. Ruined a large part of my adolescence though for some he ruined their lives.
Edited by bigandclever on Monday 18th March 13:38
To give some context to those that did not have the privilege of boarding.
The first few nights of the first term new boys were left to blub for their mums, by night 3 even silent sobbing was a sign of lack of character. It was seen as a serious flaw that you had an attachment to anyone or any thing, those that had been foolish enough to take Teddy for comfort would be held down by half the dorm whilst the rest ritually dismembered it. Running to the junior matron was met with the suggestion "show some spine boy".
The worst part of this is that the beginning of the next term when fresh blood arrived the ritual would be led by those humiliated last term.
As for cainings, when administered by a house master they had to be witnessed by the head of house, I can tell you that left me feeling more uncomfortable than being beaten.
The first few nights of the first term new boys were left to blub for their mums, by night 3 even silent sobbing was a sign of lack of character. It was seen as a serious flaw that you had an attachment to anyone or any thing, those that had been foolish enough to take Teddy for comfort would be held down by half the dorm whilst the rest ritually dismembered it. Running to the junior matron was met with the suggestion "show some spine boy".
The worst part of this is that the beginning of the next term when fresh blood arrived the ritual would be led by those humiliated last term.
As for cainings, when administered by a house master they had to be witnessed by the head of house, I can tell you that left me feeling more uncomfortable than being beaten.
We get a slow drip of men in the news talking about the abuse the suffered. I didn’t suffer to the same extent at all, but do remember a climate of fear in the late 80s and early 90s. As a day pupil I could get away.
There is a massive untold story of the fear and violence boys grew up in. There is a lot of talk about gendered violence now, but this is a story that has been ignored, how boys suffered expecting to take violence and abuse in schools. My experience from a coeducational private school was boys were subjected to it far more than girls, from a belief girls needed nurturing and boys needed correction, both from teachers and other pupils.
There is a massive untold story of the fear and violence boys grew up in. There is a lot of talk about gendered violence now, but this is a story that has been ignored, how boys suffered expecting to take violence and abuse in schools. My experience from a coeducational private school was boys were subjected to it far more than girls, from a belief girls needed nurturing and boys needed correction, both from teachers and other pupils.
I was at a boarding school in the early 80s at the age of 7 although not boarding.
I was aware of some kids having a hard time with the boarding aspect at such a young age but there were never even rumours of anything untoward.
Quite a high proportion of boarders had broken homes or a father who died young so it would be difficult to put all the blame on boarding.
I suppose like anything if there is a systemic problem in the school pupils could suffer but it certainly wasn’t my experience.
I was aware of some kids having a hard time with the boarding aspect at such a young age but there were never even rumours of anything untoward.
Quite a high proportion of boarders had broken homes or a father who died young so it would be difficult to put all the blame on boarding.
I suppose like anything if there is a systemic problem in the school pupils could suffer but it certainly wasn’t my experience.
I went to a boarding school, personally, no insoluble problems, I was able to stand up to the bullies, psychopath staff and lonely eccentrics. Can't say I benefitted from it in any way at all.
The vulnerable too frequently had a traumatic experience. I'd be amazed if they didn't suffer long term harm.
No one kept in touch with anyone once they left.
The vulnerable too frequently had a traumatic experience. I'd be amazed if they didn't suffer long term harm.
No one kept in touch with anyone once they left.
trickywoo said:
Quite a high proportion of boarders had broken homes or a father who died young so it would be difficult to put all the blame on boarding.
This.Why would all these parents send their kids away if they loved them? I often thought about that, having never been given a satisfactory explanation by my parents. My father was "because i went to public school, so did your grandfather", mother was more "because your Dad says so". Neither sounded a reasonable basis for sending your kid away to be educated in a prison for God knows how many years.
I boarded from the age of eleven in the mid 1970's, witnessed some things that I still struggle to process and at a school reunion about 25 years ago I challenged a former teacher about his behaviour and was ushered away. He used to put pupils over his lap and apply what he called his 'hard, horny hand', usually pulling your shorts up as far as he could and resting said hand on your buttocks for a few seconds between smacks.
There were probably around 10 live in teachers (all bachelor's) at the school and looking back it's pretty clear what was going on. After speaking out I never returned, but I'm glad I got to tell the dirty old tt what I thought of him, he was thoroughly embarrassed.
There were probably around 10 live in teachers (all bachelor's) at the school and looking back it's pretty clear what was going on. After speaking out I never returned, but I'm glad I got to tell the dirty old t
t what I thought of him, he was thoroughly embarrassed. popeyewhite said:
Why would all these parents send their kids away if they loved them? I often thought about that, having never been given a satisfactory explanation by my parents. My father was "because i went to public school, so did your grandfather", mother was more "because your Dad says so". Neither sounded a reasonable basis for sending your kid away to be educated in a prison for God knows how many years.
Times have changed and I can only repeat that my son (now 22) absolutely loved his time boarding. We wanted him to have the best education we could afford and chose his school with great care - something he is very pleased we did. It's really not a question of 'why would you do it if you love them?'. It's almost incomparable to boarding in the 60's and 70's (and maybe 80's). It was austere and brutal.
I think it depends a lot now on at what age they start boarding and how well they have been prepared for it.
I was 9 and had no real understanding of what was going to happen or why. A friend of my mothers said don't worry about them getting sick, it is too cold for the germs to survive.
From 9 to 18 I lost weight during every term despite eating pretty much anything I could lay my hands on.
Some time during my second term my mother enquired of the head why I was always so upset going back to school after a Sunday out. The head summoned me to the study and told me if I blubbed in the future then there would be severe consequences.
Probably the last time I cried
I was 9 and had no real understanding of what was going to happen or why. A friend of my mothers said don't worry about them getting sick, it is too cold for the germs to survive.
From 9 to 18 I lost weight during every term despite eating pretty much anything I could lay my hands on.
Some time during my second term my mother enquired of the head why I was always so upset going back to school after a Sunday out. The head summoned me to the study and told me if I blubbed in the future then there would be severe consequences.
Probably the last time I cried
NDA said:
Times have changed and I can only repeat that my son (now 22) absolutely loved his time boarding. We wanted him to have the best education we could afford and chose his school with great care - something he is very pleased we did. It's really not a question of 'why would you do it if you love them?'.
Well it was to a 7 year old boy in the early seventies.
No one is asking a modern parent to justify sending their child away, the thread concerns what a child considers abuse at public school many years ago.
I went to a school that had a mix of pupils some of which boarded. This was in the late 80s.
Those that boarded were mainly kids of RAF personnel.
I didnt personally board.
What was noticeable was those that boarded were showered with gifts from their parents. They were also the kids with the worst attitudes, as well as generally being rude.
A lack of parental guidance was obvious.
The teachers were great compared to those at the school I sat my GCSEs back in Bradford.
However it was the only school I was physically grabbed and hit by a teacher. The irony being they were the R.E teacher lol.
He denied it, but plenty were watching through the window to back me up.
My parents were not impressed and to be fair the school did formally apologise.
Overall it was a great experience and I would have sent my kids to a similar school. However both my kids turned down the opportunity
Those that boarded were mainly kids of RAF personnel.
I didnt personally board.
What was noticeable was those that boarded were showered with gifts from their parents. They were also the kids with the worst attitudes, as well as generally being rude.
A lack of parental guidance was obvious.
The teachers were great compared to those at the school I sat my GCSEs back in Bradford.
However it was the only school I was physically grabbed and hit by a teacher. The irony being they were the R.E teacher lol.
He denied it, but plenty were watching through the window to back me up.
My parents were not impressed and to be fair the school did formally apologise.
Overall it was a great experience and I would have sent my kids to a similar school. However both my kids turned down the opportunity
Edited by mikebradford on Monday 18th March 17:28
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff