Corporal punishment at school/The Black Book

[stutterdog]

Does anyone remember getting the cane at school and having the punishment registered in the dreaded Black Book? I remember being caned when I went to Armley Park S.M and being punished 2 o3 times for fairly trivial misdemeanors. The punishment would be administered by the teacher in who's class the misdemeanor had occurred and he would send you to the headmasters office for the book and then take it back to the classroom for the punishment to be administered before the class.What a showing up that was! The teacher could also send you to the headmaster for him to do it.This was for more serious offences. What I would like to know is ,after this practice was outlawed,what happened to the Black Books? Are they in store somewhere to be produced after 100years? Will the contents ever be published or opened to public scrutiny?

[Johnny39]

stutterdog wrote: Does anyone remember getting the cane at school and having the punishment registered in the dreaded Black Book? I remember being caned when I went to Armley Park S.M and being punished 2 o3 times for fairly trivial misdemeanors. The punishment would be administered by the teacher in who's class the misdemeanor had occurred and he would send you to the headmasters office for the book and then take it back to the classroom for the punishment to be administered before the class.What a showing up that was! The teacher could also send you to the headmaster for him to do it.This was for more serious offences. What I would like to know is ,after this practice was outlawed,what happened to the Black Books? Are they in store somewhere to be produced after 100years? Will the contents ever be published or opened to public scrutiny? Certainly do, also the School Board man who used to come to your house if you had missed school for whatever reason.

[Keg]

It was called "The Bat" at my school, more to add fear than anything else.Got it twice, deserved it both times....

[Trojan]

We had a teacher who delighted in dishing out the cane. He was the deputy headmaster, and took us for technical drawing. We had technical drawing when the girls had needlework. So it was just the boys - 14 of us. He insisted that our printing on our drawings should be 3/16" wide and 1/8" high.One day he came round with two sets of dividers, set at the above measurements. He measured every boy's printing. 13 of us didn't measure up and he gave us the cane. The 14th boy's printing was spot on - whether by good luck or good management. The teacher gave him the cane too "in case it's wrong next time" I am not exaggerating. This is a true story. In those days I think teachers were cane happy. And it needed to be controlled to prevent incidents like the above. However, I don't believe it should have been abolished completely. For me it should be the ultimate sanction. The weapon of last resort. The scene in Kes where all the boys get the cane regardless of their offence, including one who's just come with a message for the headmaster was very true to life in my experience.

[tilly]

Keg wrote: It was called "The Bat" at my school, more to add fear than anything else.Got it twice, deserved it both times.... At my school Bewerley Street the black book ment a pupil being caned in front of the whole school and no reference when he left school.A bit harsh i would say but then the teachers had control of the class.Its not a job i would like to do now the school i was at was rough and tough i hate to think what would it would have been like with the restrictions the teachers have now.

[Cardiarms]

It was the indiscrimate use that lost its fear for us, as mentioned above it weilded for minor offences and against those who had done no wrong. Once knew you'd likely get it or not it didn't hold much of a threat and once a few of you'd had it, it wasn't the 'special' event it was built up to be. There was no black book either. More indiscriminate and painful was usually a ruler in the class room or the slipper (really a shoe). this was mainly at middle school (remember them?) and it all but fizzled out by high school.

[chameleon]

Cardiarms wrote: It was the indiscrimate use that lost its fear for us, as mentioned above it weilded for minor offences and against those who had done no wrong. Once knew you'd likely get it or not it didn't hold much of a threat and once a few of you'd had it, it wasn't the 'special' event it was built up to be. There was no black book either. More indiscriminate and painful was usually a ruler in the class room or the slipper (really a shoe). this was mainly at middle school (remember them?) and it all but fizzled out by high school. Never suffered, but there were a few people with distinctly strange traits who in my opinion delivered this punishment or similar to whom they wished and possibly for their own satisfaction in someway or other. Even then I think I would have screamed assult if I felt it injustly applied to me in such circumstances - certainly respect would be gone.More respect gained from the flying chalk (or board rubber on a bad day!).    

[BLAKEY]

At Ben Rhydding School (1941 -47) punishments were dished out without any black register or other record of any kind. I don't want to give the wrong impression - it was a great primary school, and no doubt still is, and the teachers were all "toffs" really, but it was just the practice of the times. Here are three "modes" which I remember clearly. A lady teacher used to rap you on the back of the hand, and this caused me a vivid nightmare once and I've never forgotten it. I dreamed that as a result of such a treatment the back of my hand peeled open like an orange and flames came out.A male teacher had a cupboard in the front of his desk, and this contained (on neat brackets) a selection of canes whose length varied to suit the severity of the offence committed. In our final year our class teacher was the harshest of the lot. He was a small elderly man and used to stand on the side rungs of his high chair to achieve greater leverage and force with the cane.Despite all this, neither me nor any of my contemporaries have turned into violent thugs "because of the way we were treated."    

[Lilysmum]

Several teachers at my secondary school were dab hands at dishing out corporal punishment and one in particular seemed to relish it,from picking lads up by their ears or sideburns,throwing anything he could lay his hands on including chairs to walloping backsides with a size 13 plimsole.Girls were just subjected to being shouted at with his face an inch away from yours.A lot of lads vowed when they left school the were "gonna av im"I hope some of them did!.Another one used to walk across the top of the desks hitting people on the head with his signet ring on his knuckle to punctuate his points.I'm glad my children didn't have to tolerate bullies like them at school,some of them should have been locked up.

[Spackler]

Never had a book at my primary but there were certainly pointless punishments. Our vicious old lady teacher meted out smackings at the front of class and assembly. Can remember all the red hand marks across our backsides. I got it several times and cant remember ever doing anything wrong. Clearly she got a great deal of enjoyment out of it in some way.