So who was caned at school?

[Tim Cognito]

Times have certainly changed, as someone under 40 it's unfathomable to me that teachers used to go around beating children at will.

[James6112]

Tim Cognito said:

Times have certainly changed, as someone under 40 it's unfathomable to me that teachers used to go around beating children at will.

& the good old CofE vicars!

[Pugmitch]

I attended a boys grammar school in mid to late 60’s. Punishment was brutal for even minor misdemeanours.
All the instruments so far in this thread pale into insignificance with my school’s favoured pain giver. Bunsen burner tubing was the favoured tool. It invariably left huge weals (ask me how I know!) which took weeks to heal. Additionally the chemistry teacher would force pupils to clean out fume cupboards after heaven knows what chemicals had been used for experiments!
A saving grace was after one beating the pupil’s elder brother and his mates ambushed the teacher after school and dished out the same on his bare backside. Funny how the beatings petered out for a while!
Corporal punishment is barbaric. I’m glad it was abolished. Mind you if my son had been the subject of any I would not have been slow to dish out the same irrespective of any detrimental outcome!

[andrebar]

irc said:

I would say in Scotland in the 70s the belt was widely used everywhere. I went to a good school in a suburb. It was used regularly. Some teachers got respect without using the belt. Others used it infrequently as a last resort. Some were too quick to use it. ONR geography teacher gave around 35 strokes of the belt in one class. I got belted 2 or 3 times. As far as I remember the belt was preferred to an alternative of getting punishment lines to do as it was over there and then.

In retrospect kids as you as 11 being belted was barbaric. Times change.

In Scotland I remember the belt getting regular use on kids quite a bit younger than 11. Didn’t really bother me at the time, but in hindsight yeah it was basically mediaeval.

[paulwirral]

I got caned a few times at school , the one that stands out is the pe teacher that we laughed at for getting the bus home with us at the end of the day , next day we had to report to him .
A few of us got caned , he broke a cane over my hand as I was stubborn and wouldn’t yield , I thought I’d got away with a couple of strokes but the bd had a few back up canes , needless to say I behaved myself on the bus home from then .
Worst thing is he went into partnership with a local builder years later and I ended up doing him a few favours within the building industry , he also joint owned a local pub so I was ok for the “ stoppy back “ as it was known back then .
In truth it taught me respect , it’s something a lot of the younger people lack these days , mainly as they just pull the “ bully card “ out .

[Desiderata]

andrebar said:

In Scotland I remember the belt getting regular use on kids quite a bit younger than 11. Didn’t really bother me at the time, but in hindsight yeah it was basically mediaeval.

I was belted shortly after starting primary school, a couple of months before my 5th birthday. It probably launched my hatred of teachers and bullying authority which I still have today, 55 years later.

[cheesejunkie]

Another one I remember. I was at school when canings were banned.

So I entered with them being allowed and left with them not.

I remember a few weeks before the ban came in some of the teachers being extra liberal with the beatings. Not all or nearly all obviously. But some were getting them out of their system.

It's hard to believe it all went on looking back at it but it did and was just considered a normal part of school.

[rodericb]

singlecoil said:

cheesejunkie said:

singlecoil said:

The question has been asked before, but not yet answered. How is discipline maintained in schools currently? I'm old enough to have left by the time CP was removed as a sanction. What has replaced it?

Through respect.

I'm not a teacher but my brother in law reliably tells me that having the respect of the kids works.

I've even picked up one of his tricks. Walk into a room where people want to hear you and talk very quietly. The noise level will rapidly reduce.

No need for slaps.

That's a very simple answer but simple answers are rarely complete ones. For instance, what about when there is no teacher present?

Or where the people don't think they need to hear you talk..... If kiddies were that engaged with the subject matter they'd be quiet and eager to hear what the teacher had to say.

[cheesejunkie]

rodericb said:

Or where the people don't think they need to hear you talk..... If kiddies were that engaged with the subject matter they'd be quiet and eager to hear what the teacher had to say.

Even ignorant people are nosey and want to hear what's being said. It works.

There may be some who it doesn't on but group dynamics are in play and loud mouths soon shut up when nobody's listening to them.

I'm not a teacher, wouldn't if you begged me, but related to plenty and they manage discipline without beatings all day every day. Except the summer holidays where the lazy bds take two months off and pretend it's needed as their job's so tough. I like annoying them by telling them I think it's easy and they're only part time workers.

[cerb4.5lee]

PhilkSVR said:

Given that by today’s standards those stories are pretty barbaric, however when I was at school in the 60’s it was simply the norm. Parents could also give you a slap on the back of the legs. It was the norm. It is simply illegal now. However, what are effective sanctions? Let’s not kid ourselves some pupils are complete aholes and teachers have their hands tied behind their back when dealing with those individuals. Teachers these days have my sympathy.

I couldn't be a teacher nowadays either, and I think they deserve a medal. I've got a daughter who is turning 16 in a minute, and she doesn't respect teachers or adults full stop.

I can't get my head around it, because I was brought up in a era where you respected teachers/adults whether they kicked the st out of you or not. It is crazy how much times have changed for sure I reckon.

If I was naughty at school and my parents found out, the punishment I got at home was far worse than the punishment I'd had at school for sure. Plus my Mum could be arguably more nasty than my Dad was too. It is mad how much everything has changed now in comparison.

Kids have it piss easy nowadays, and they are allowed to do/say whatever they like without any deterrent for me.

[RC1807]

I was at a secondary school where the slipper and cane were used very often. This was early 80s.
I moved to another school as we moved house and there was zero corporal punishment there. I couldn’t believe it.. the worst that happened might have been detention, which was deemed very bad, but dished out at every lesson in the prior school!

I recall my brothers, 4 & 6 years older than me, received the cane. I didn’t, thankfully.

I had the slipper many times during junior / primary school.

Mind you, we didn’t dare carry knives, gang up or harass or beat people in those days ….

[hilly10]

Only in primary school up till I was 10 bloody nuns they loved it probably got off on it.

[Lotobear]

hilly10 said:

Only in primary school up till I was 10 bloody nuns they loved it probably got off on it.

...doubtless it became a habit

[Pugmitch]

I attended a boys grammar school in mid to late 60’s. Punishment was brutal for even minor misdemeanours.
All the instruments so far in this thread pale into insignificance with my school’s favoured pain giver. Bunsen burner tubing was the favoured tool. It invariably left huge weals (ask me how I know!) which took weeks to heal. Additionally the chemistry teacher would force pupils to clean out fume cupboards after heaven knows what chemicals had been used for experiments!
A saving grace was after one beating the pupil’s elder brother and his mates ambushed the teacher after school and dished out the same on his bare backside. Funny how the beatings petered out for a while!
Corporal punishment is barbaric. I’m glad it was abolished. Mind you if my son had been the subject of any I would not have been slow to dish out the same irrespective of any detrimental outcome!