Published on 12, July, 2020
I was talking with somebody who got offended because the school won't allow "stimming" for students. Lol, I remember back then, when nobody took child psychology seriously and the primary school teachers used corporal punishments as teaching tools. I remember some kids, probably on the spectrum, that received so many ruler strikes on their finger that they ended up bleeding all over. More than one had to leave school because "they won't stop fidgeting". The other kids used to bully them horribly afterwards, since the teacher used to vent their frustrations on us after having their way with them. I wonder where they ended up, with little education and loads of untreated mental issues. No wonder so many people of my generation are totally mentally fouled up.
Was that a thing, back then in UK? I wonder if it was only linked to my s***hole country. I was born it the 70's, by the way
Most of my school education was in Scotland in the 1970s, where the "belt" also called the "tawse", on the hand was the form of corporal punishment used. I didn't fancy getting the belt so I behaved myself. If I had caused trouble at school, I am sure that my parents would be told and there would be further punishment at home (not corporal punishment). I didn't receive corporal punishment.
It was distressing hearing the noise of the belt hitting someones hand, I sometimes heard the whack noise coming from another classroom.
Some boys wanted to be seen as being "hard" so they would play up, when taught by what they perceived as a weak teacher, who might not belt painfully. I have to say that I witnessed some appalling pupil behaviour at the school and heard about worse. I think that some pupils were sent to get the belt from a Physical Education teacher as a more severe punishment.
I didn't feel that I was unfairly treated by any of the teachers at the school. A teacher is just trying to do their job, if people were to illtreat other types of workers then the law would get involved.
Years after I left that school, I read an article in the local paper in which an unnamed former pupil who's age was the same as mine, recalled that during his schooldays, boys of low social status were punished more harshly at the school. It was commonly thought that the parents of more middle class pupils would complain to the school if they felt that their children had been unfairly punished. So maybe some pupils got a raw deal.
Article about the tawse here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39044445
We had what was called in the North of England, 'the strap'. It was identical to the Scottish 'tawse'. I remember that the miscreant or victim, had to hold out both hands horizontally and flat with one hand supporting the other, to be swapped round between blows. The main 'trick' was to keep your thumbs well down, otherwise being caught on the thumb joints was very painful. The real 'hard cases' in the lads would pull their hands back as the teacher swung, so that they would miss and best of all the teacher might hit themselves on the leg. This resulted in a worse strapping afterwards, obviously. I can recall one classmate holding off a teacher with a chair, like a lion tamer. I think my 11 to 14 years' school was more like a bear garden than a place of education.