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The cane at school

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G G Jean

Brummy Wench.
Sue wondered if any one received the cane at school or did you know of someone who did?. Jean.
 
Hi Jean,

Yes I was caned at least twice and I suppose that each time I deserved it. As I remember it the offences were pretty trivial such as talking in class. I suppose it all depended on the mood of the teacher. Each time it was one stroke on the hand which stung for a time but it soon wore off.

Old Boy
 
I had the cane on a regular basis mostly because I wasn't wearing the corect school uniform, which wasn't from choice but was because my parents couldn't afford it. I became quite hardened to it and refused to cry which only made the sadistic teachers hit me harder and led to me having no respect for them.
 
Moseley School of art Got the cane many times on the hand. Child abuse NOW! John Crump OldBrit, Parker, Co USA
 
I was caned a number of times at school, mainly for talking or laughing in class. When the teacher asked what you had laughed at, most times you simply couldn't remember and that seemed to infuriate them.
 
farm st infants and juniors...i got one wack of the cane for stepping out of the orderly line in the playground..
 
Not the cane, but the ruler - quite painful. Rapped across the knuckles for not learning the times tables at Kingsthorne Junior School, Kingstanding. Viv.
 
Our History teacher didn't believe in the cane, he had a cricket bat up the corner instead. And what an amazing deterrent that was. Only saw him use it once in five years.
 
HI ALL
I have in front of me a copy of the punishment book of FORMANS RD school from 1937-1944,i will list some of the things pupils had the cane for.
Stone throwing-one on each hand,
kicking a girl-one on each hand
Playing amongst boys clothes in the gym changing room-one on hand
playing with girls hats-one on each hand
snowballing one on each hand
dipping a boys head in a wash basin two on each hand
playing on railway track two on each hand
and the list goes on,far to many to list.
HAPPY DAYS
KEN
scratching a desk-one on each hand
playing truant-two on each hand
misbehaviour in assembly-one on each hand
cheating- one on each hand
wasting time and bad work-one on each hand
fighting-one on each hand
running in the corridor one on each hand
throwing at the girls last night after 4-30 two on each hand
misbehaving in the street one on each hand
swearing one on each hand
 
HI
Before any one askes the question i am not in it.Idid not start there untill 1945.
But i may have been in the next one
KEN
 
At Highters Heath junior school, late 40s, only the headmaster could administer the cane. The teachers were allowed to slap us which they did to extremes. I was given a bloody nose by one woman teacher but did not dare to tell my parents how I had come by it. That was common assault, you can go to jail for it now.
Wheelers Lane school, everyone used the cane, I got it a lot, for trivial things like spelling mistakes. Bunch of sadists.
 
Thirteen is a unlucky number, as we all know, and it sure was for me. The word 'Mediterranean' has that number of letters in it and guess what? - When I was at Yardley Wood in the early fifties, I misspelled it. One teacher and a grand teacher he was made me bend over and as I spelt that word, aloud, I received a stroke of the large board ruler across the posterior for each letter. Not too hard but enough for me never to forget how to spell that word. Now is that a record? Will.
 
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Those years 1937/44 were my time frame, when the war started
most of the younger teachers joined up, mainly in the RAF, and
were replaced either by women, and retired teachers who were
recalled, as it were.We had one at Yardley Wood SB. He used to keep twelve(12) canes in his cupboard all with names on,he used to "Arnold fetch me Benjamin my youngest son! Dont remember him using them that often, he was
a brilliant teacher Bernard
 
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Vivienne my twins went to that school. There were some naughty boys and girls then. Jim I remember once I had not a clean school skirt and had to wear a different color and it was my turn to read out the sports results. I didn't have the cane but was belittled by the headmistress in front of the whole school. My mom passed the then free scholarship but my nan couldn't afford the uniform. Jean.
 
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Hi Jean, I seem to recollect talking about this before, however, it is still sharp in my mind even all these years later. The teachers at our school had a variety of implements with which to inflict severe pain on anyone breaking the school rules, they ranged from canes, plimsolls, pieces of wood, in fact any item handy that caused pain. Our gym teacher had a new pair of white plimsolls each term, and if you were unfortunate enough to get six of the best across your backside with one of them, he requested that you put your initials on one or the other, whoever had the most initials on them at the end of term got six more! I had the cane several times for 'dumb insolence', I never did find out what it was.
 
Yes had the cane many times but the teachers used anything that was handy board rulers, pumps hitting the knuckles with small rules, board rubbers thrown at you, desk tops smashed down on the fingers and I will probable think of more. The one good thing about Bishop Challoners was it was very forward for the time 1960s and equal rights for women was practiced with the girls also getting the cane. If someone did something really bad the whole school would be assembled to watch them being caned
 
First had the cane in the juniors,for climbing up the scaffold onto the roof of the caretakers house,at Upper Thomas St.school,a girl dobbed me in.
However ,once in the big boy's it was almost a daily event. One teacher could just lash out with anything,a couple of them it was on your bum,one of them always made you bend further over so your short trousers rode up and he would aim for your bare leg,the rest hit your hand but it would be a few on the hand you didn't use for writing.The worst of all was a teacher who wouldn't hit you, but humiliate you with words.When a 13 year old in our class hanged himself,the whisper at the time was this teacher was the cause.
 
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I went to George Dixon Grammar from 1957 - 63. The deputy head was a gent of fearsome aspect. One look from his beady little eyes would quell a riot instantly. He was an extremely strict disciplinarian, but handed out the cane (the "cosh") very rarely. One day while larking about in the Hall, I was shoved into a framed picture, which fell to the floor and the glass shattered. Before I knew what was happening I was in his study, and he'd taken "Kitty The Cane" from its place on the wall. I had my hand held out in readiness, my eyes closed and my teeth gritted. Not a single word did he speak, until he suddenly told me to get out and never let myself be seen by him again. That, folks, was what you call The Fear Of God, and I never, ever, again put myself in a situation where I might once again see the inside of that study.

Not long after this episode, I realised I'd lost all my money somehow, and didn't have the bus-fare home from Edgbaston to Witton. He demanded to know why I was still hanging around the place at half-past four, so I told him. Without hesitation he gave me the money for my bus-fare, and you can bet I paid him back the next morning. Strict, but kind. They don't make 'em like him any more.

G
 
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Hi all, i attended Handsworth New School 1951-1954,the headteacher was, something to do with the Footballing family, which was of no interest to me, i was caned for no apparent reason, in those days it was by selection, a lot of the teachers had served in the war and probably felt the need to express themselves, their object usually the pupils, so the cane was used frequently, however, i was givern the task of booking in all the school exersize pumps, black, in various sizes, which came direct from the manufacturer, seizing this wonderfull way of paying the school back , i created a thriving bussiness selling this footwear at very reasonable knockdown prices, my overheads were very low, and i left school rather well off.
 
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