Take wobbletastic for example, he gets away with whatever he wants (that cheeky chappy), whilst x-megzie-x is vindictive and brings trouble to whichever forum she goes into.

As someone who went to schools in the 1970s which still used corporal punishment, I can see arguments on both sides.

On the anti-corporal punishment side, some teachers (a small minority I'm sure - I don't think there were any in my school) got sadistic/sexual pleasure out of using the cane or slipper. That to me is such a massive argument against that it more or less kills the debate. Also on the anti-side, some recipients of corporal punishment may have suffered some lasting psychological damage.

Having said all that, you may be wondering whether there can really be another side to the argument. In some respects I think the cane did work. When I was at school the teachers were very much in charge. I can't remember any teacher ever being sworn at by a pupil and I can't recall any real challenges to the authority of the teachers (and I did not go to a posh school with nice middle class kids). I think the knowledge that any such dissent would have resulted in 3 strokes of the cane is probably the reason why. No pupil was ever suspended or expelled. We did not live in constant fear of the cane. It was only used for serious offences and in my day I think most pupils went through school without ever receiving it.

My own experience. I only once received corporal punishment shortly after joining primary school when I would have been 4 or 5. I scribbled on the paper in the art lesson rather than drew whatever I was supposed to be drawing. I was not deliberately being naughty, I did not understand what I was supposed to be doing. The teacher smacked my bottom in front of the class and made me cry. Did I deserve it ? No. Did it do me good ? Possibly, because I learned the consequences of misbehaviour and never received corporal punishment again.

I came very close to getting the cane when a teenager in secondary school. I never did anything that bad, but was very immature and sought attention. I was threatened with the cane several times and I came very close to getting it. Looking back I think 3 whacks of the cane on my back side would probably have done me good and would certainly have stopped the bad behaviour.

Of course, corporal punishment in British schools is gone for good and I am not really suggesting it should be brought back, but I would be interested to hear the views of anyone currently in the educational system, either a teacher or pupil.

YEAH BLACKBOARD RUBBERS/CHALK ETC USED TO HAPPEN IN MY SCHOOLDAYS TOO,WOULDN'T BE ALLOWED NOW I ALWAYS GOT CANED FOR SMOKING IN THE LOOS OR BEHIND SHEDSREALLY WISH THAT HAD LEARNED ME A LESSON THO'THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE THIS BOTHER TRYING TO QUIT THE DARNED THINGS JEEZ TEACHERS CANNOT LOOK AT KIS THE WRONG WAY NOW CAN THEY(FLIPPIN' 'ECK I AM STARTING TO SOUND LIKE THOSE OLDE PEEPS,LOL)

I guess the cane didn't work for you then if you are still smoking in spite of receiving it. Smoking was a caning offence in my school too - not a problem for me as I never touched the demon weed. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Unchained:
Take wobbletastic for example, he gets away with whatever he wants (that cheeky chappy), whilst x-megzie-x is vindictive and brings trouble to whichever forum she goes into.

Yes...and that is oh so correct..."that cheeky chappy" ay???? You're scaring me a little now unchained!

My head teacher in my secondary school was very strict you couldn't breath the wrong way and she would be on your back. she thankfully left shortly after I stared and we got a soft touch. However the school did go down after that so maybe the strict one was good after all

I had both the cane and slipper(six of the best with this one) at school for really doing very little wrong.I went to school in the eighties when just about evey day somebody would be sent to the headmaster for a well smacked bottom. I always found it strange that shortly after my school days were over that corporal punishment was stopped. Nowadays when i'm working with youngsters and seeing how cheeky they can be i feel that they would have always been in the headmasters study for the slipper/cane.I feel that it would be a good idea to bring it back for bullying/vandalism/stealing but not for the things i got it for such as being late for school/handing in homework late and other such minor offences.

not really that strict cause the teachers where weak to do anything

I am female and I got slippered in an all girls school on several occasions, and caned twice across the hands.

Also had to write lines a lot of times.

I think we got it a lot less than boys, but wish I could have had the cane across my bottom as caning across the hands stung awfully.

I did learn my lesson though and went on to OXford University eventually.

Its surprising reading this chain how varied experiences were. Like RichSouth I was at school up to 18 during the 70s.

I think I was fortunate to go to an all-boys school were caning was an accepted part of life but was certainly not endemic or capricious. I remember being amazed to learn that at other schools prefects were allowed to use the cane. No wonder corporal punishment became controversial.

The cane was reserved for only a few teachers and always followed a set routine (i.e. never in anger). Most of us who received the cane tended to have built up to it (4 black marks). In fact, the psychological element was probably one of the biggest deterrents because the "tariff" of 2 to 6 strokes would depend on what caused each black mark so the element of discretion meant you did not know how many to expect until the day of the punishment when there was a note in the register.

Looking back I was no more trouble than most boys and I certainly wanted to avoid the cane. You will never cavalier about it and you always felt sorry for a guy (unless it was bullying/thieving type issues). It is strange thinking over it because we were very accepting. I can still remember being caned not long after my 16th birthday which was the only time I did receive the proverbial six of the best. As I say, it was all done "properly": the caning teacher would have a fellow teacher as a witness. The punishments always took place in an ante-room off the school gym. I suspect it differed from school to school but our canings were always on the backside so, depending on height, you would always bend over either a gym-horse or a high chair left in that room for the purpose.

Actually, I say we were accepting. At the start of my second year of sixth form I remember being furious at collecting 4 black marks in quick succession (I think I was starting to tire of the place and acting up). As my birthday is early October, I did not think it fair I should be caned at 18. I think it was a deputy head who was left to carry out my punishment and when I went to see him the day before asked me to explain why being 18 made any difference. I did try but after a minutes I could not think of any decent reasons - I remember standing up and saying something along the lines that I wanted the 5 strokes I would receive the following day to be my last. And I managed it!

So, I suppose in that sense that in 1976 there was a deterrent value. However, its relative speed probably means its less effective than long detentions which I assume are used now.

quote:

Originally posted by TAWright:
Its surprising reading this chain how varied experiences were. Like RichSouth I was at school up to 18 during the 70s.

I too was at school then - an all-boys boarding school. We were caned, or for lesser matters given the back of a wooden hairbrush. The hairbrush was administered to the backside over underpants, the cane likewise over trousers. Both hurt! Rightly so, no other part of the body was ever struck, and the whole episode was done properly and recorded in a book.

It should be brought back, without doubt.

quote:

Originally posted by TAWright:
However, its relative speed probably means its less effective than long detentions which I assume are used now.

You're joking. Detentions are short - because children cannot be kept back after school unless they want it ( usually ), and the short sharp shock is much more effective. Given the choice I would always have opted for languishing in a classroom for a couple of hours! I never got that choice - and didn't waste my precious years doing meaningless detentions either!!

my school was typical of the era in which I went to school but by today's standards the discipline would be classed as strict and archaic. Yes, we got the cane, slipper, ruler and teachers hand but this was quite the norm in the 50s and 60s. If you did something really bad then you were sent to see the Headmaster who would dole out the punishment tho he didnt personally cane the girls, this was left to the senior female teacher when at secondary school. However, this rule didnt seem to extend to male teachers at junior school and at the age of 7 i was caned by a male teacher for not know ing the answer to a question. In the infants school we were sparend the cane but a naughty child would be hit with the teachers hand or the ruler