What was your school like?

One theme running through the replies is that the further back you go in time, the worse children were treated by teachers.

Corporal punishment is an obvious difference, but also just plain cruelty, like the tales of being forced to face the wall.

In my junior school a punishment was forcing boys to stand in front of the class and having books piled onto their hands, and not being allowed to drop them.

I was pulled out of the class by my hair by a teacher in my junior school.

Physical punishments such as spanking were the norm at home in those days too but going further back my mother got 'the strap'.

An old saying my mum often used: 'children should be seen but not heard'.

A good thing in the junior school is that they had people come in to test children's eyes, so at the age of 9 I could see properly for the first time with my NHS specs

Junior school wasn't as bad for bullying as the senior but I did have some physical fights with boys.

A theme that persists throughout our experiences, with some exceptions, is social isolation, no matter what the era.

aye but modern schools the children run amok and even attack teachers. in modern high schools.

i dont agree with the old schools physically assaulting kids with canes lol thats a bit much maybe.... but the fact kids in high schools are so insane and run riot attacking teachers in class tells me that a ballance between both is required, there needs to be some form of discipline. a balance between old and new, as new is a bit too loose and allows kids to destroy the school structure and ruin learning process.

aye but modern schools the children run amok and even attack teachers. in modern high schools.

i dont agree with the old schools physically assaulting kids with canes lol thats a bit much maybe.... but the fact kids in high schools are so insane and run riot attacking teachers in class tells me that a ballance between both is required, there needs to be some form of discipline. a balance between old and new, as new is a bit too loose and allows kids to destroy the school structure and ruin learning process.

Thank you for sharing.

I found that interesting.

You are talking about parents here though I think, when we have mainly been talking about school.

Not having had my own children, I'm not qualified to comment, but my husband says he'd give the children a 'gentle' smack on the odd occasion and sees that as fine.

I just feel that if physical reprimands can be avoided they should, which I think is probably what most reasonable parents would feel anyway.

In an ideal world, I'd like there to be no physical violence at all, to anyone (especially animals), but what a dream world that would be.

Maybe I’m old school but I don’t see a huge amount wrong with giving a kid a short sharp smack across the back of their legs if they need to stop doing something. As well as usually meaning the child learns to be  respectful it can put a quick stop to certain behaviours, rather than the behaviour being repeated because there is never any consequences (or even dealing with issues that are paramount to their safety). Animals with often reprimand they’re young for good reasons, not because they are bullying. And yes I fully understand we are far more intelligent than animals, but actually when you look at humankind, are we really… 

I went to Glengorse prep school from 1965-1970,and Felsted public school from 1970-1975. Prep school was better than public school,but both were rather awful.

Independent schools main advantage is that they can expel students and hand them back to the state sector. Most education authorities have a committee of head teachers and officers who place students who have been excluded. If a schol expels one of their problem kids, they just get another problem kid to take their place. We can be talking muggers and rapists here ... literally.

One of my last roles before I retired was working for the part of the LEA that had to "broker" the horse-trading. In a few cases kids did make a fresh start at a new schol and go on to make a success of their education. But often kids will go through several "fresh starts", then on to a Pupil Referral Unit, then graduate to a Young Offenders' Institution.

Parents who send their kids to independent schools care enough about education to make economic choices. A lot of parents are not rich  (admittedly they are not exactly poor either) but choose to forgo spending every evening down the pub and a fortnight in a villa in the Costa Paquet in order to invest in their kids' future.

It is possible to discipline kids without physical punishment. All that does is teach them that might is right and the big people have a right to bully little people.

I don't know if you work, but how would you feel if your boss were allowed to slap and humiliate you?

If the school has a good learning environment and the kids are kept engaged there is very little need for punishment, because kids are creatures of habit ... get the routine right, and most of the kids will comply.

The "little sods" are often kids from chaotic homes and may well be "acting out" because they are subject to domestic violence or bullying at home, and want to take it out on younger and more vulnerable students. They want to be "big men" like their bullying fathers. They store up the resentment against parents, teachers and authority in general until they are big enough and ugly enough to pay the violence forward to the next generation. That's what keeps the psychiatrists, social workers, police and prison officers employed.

Personally I think there's better ways to discipline people than physically punishing them. 

The treatment of children was poorer for children in the older days, more so if the said child was special needs and had more difficulties than the rest. 21st Century schools, the ones I went to, the teachers have no power to discipline if they do they'll either be fired or face prison..... Kids know this, especially the older kids so they get away with all sorts.

When I was at school Tubby Jenkins was a right pr*ck he was horrible to the other kids and swore at the teachers, even threw his meal over a dinner lady. His parents got a letter but he was like it again and again.

I don't think it's right to be cruel to kids but not being able to discipline when they're being little sods means they don't respect or care about adults and teachers. As my Grandad tells me he received the cane and it taught him to be a decent responsible man.

Caelus said:

i think its the desire to be there and the free choice to want to have a education that determines the level of violence among students.

I agree although not all pupils at private schools will want to be there.

A lot are pushed there by pushy parents.

There are other factors like background and poverty etc that affect children's behaviour.

From my experience in senior school, the teachers make a huge difference re discipline.

It's partly I think down to the personality of the teacher as to whether they can control children.

My niece worked for a long time in an inner city comprehensive (in recent years) and she was fine with it and could control the boys.

She has a 'strong' personality.

i think with private schools too though its a effect that the kids there want a education.
while in anything free, its more a prison camp and the kids hate being there, they are not there to learn they are forced there against their will so they get aggressive.

this is also why when you go to college later on college isnt like high school, everyone is nice in college as college was a optional thing and people only went there out of free choice and want of pursuing education.

i think its the desire to be there and the free choice to want to have a education that determines the level of violence among students.

a paid optional school will have more discipline as the kids want to be there to learn.

Caelus said:

but the fact kids in high schools are so insane and run riot attacking teachers in class tells me that a ballance between both is required, there needs to be some form of discipline. a balance between old and new,

The trouble is what is acceptable and what isn't.

I don't really approve of any kind of physical punishment, but without it, children don't know any barriers.

I suspect though that if you look at private schools, the discipline is better without physical punishment.

I worked in one once and the children did seem better behaved and in fact I have an acquaintance who moved from a comprehensive to a private school as a teacher, and is far happier now.

So, it's a class thing too probably.