In the 1970s, I attended a boys grammar school in the south-east of England. We had all the traditions of such schools – uniform, homework, the use of surnames only for pupils and, of course, corporal punishment. Though the cane was available, the usual instrument of discipline was the slipper – actually a gym shoe. […]
The coat room
When I was in second grade, I attended a school that allowed the students to be paddled. It was always done at the Principal’s office and never in public. I was always a good girl by school standards and never got the paddle. However, my mom was the art teacher at the school and she […]
Sister Rose’s yardstick
As a Catholic schoolgirl of the 50s, I was introduced to Sister Rose and the yardstick in seventh grade. The first day of the school year, Sister Rose left us in no doubt as to how we would be punished. She told us that she would not tolerate any improper behaviour or poor school work, […]
Bare-bottomed slippering
I attended a boys’ grammar school in the North of England in the 1960s. Corporal punishment was widely used. Most of the teachers used the slipper, while the headmaster and deputy head used the cane. The majority of teachers were male and although we had more women teachers later, at the time in question, when […]
Gentle reminder
Although it was long ago, I still remember my fourth grade teacher, Mrs Redman. She was just out of college and the most beautiful teacher in the school. I was in love with her and was often stimulated by thoughts of her. I came from a family that believed in discipline – and in good […]
Four legs – one bottom
When I was at school in Wellington, New Zealand, in the 1960s, the great shame for us boys was having other people see our underpants. Girls, of course, were fair game. We could chase them and catch them and lift their skirts for a peek; we could watch them hanging upside-down on the climbing-frame or […]
That did it
It happened in school. And it changed my life entirely. The teacher came into the class and she was furious. The exercise showed clearly that quite a few fellows hadn’t done their homework. Consequently, the ones who had failed had to expect the teacher’s cane. According to her rule, the number of mistakes were paid […]