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The cane at school

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When I started William Murdoch School (Rookery Rd) as an under 12 I got the cane twice, one on my hand because my writing was so bad (still is) and once in front of the school on my behind because I threw a stone and broke a gas light with my school uniform on! Not too clever but I figured it out :-(
 
I mentioned earlier about our science teacher giving us electric shocks, well another punishment he would dish out was on a vacuum machine. He would make you put the palm of your hand over the hole, 2” diameter then turn the handle. All your skin on your hand was sucked down leaving the guides protruding, it looked horrible but I can’t remember any pain. The horrors of going to school in Weoley Castle
 
Harry Flashman said:
At primary school back in the very old days, I upset the latin master, a florid faced man with an evil streak.
One warm and sunny afternoon while he was slashing at the black board with a piece of chalk, laying out the Imperfect tense of the verb Amo, my friend Stephen sitting behind me, tapped me on the back and passed me a note. Taking great care not to be seen, I open the folded piece of paper and read:
‘Latin is a language as dead as dead can be.
It killed the ancient Romans and now it’s killing me.’
Of course I laughed, was heard. He asked me what I was laughing at and naturally I told him "nothing." I was summoned to the front of the class and was made to "bend over." I leaned forward and felt a hand on my neck forcing me over until I was staring at my feet. There followed the rending air as his heavy rattan cane accelerated towards my backside. When it hit, a firework display appeared before my eyes and an explosion of pain shot through my whole body. Two more blinding slashes and I was sent back to my desk. I was told after class that ‘P J’ went easy on me, only giving me three hits with that awful instrument. Happy days.
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Nice story telling, you would get an excellent from my old teacher.;) But seriously, they taught Latin at your school?:eek:
 
Richarddye said:
When I started William Murdoch School (Rookery Rd) as an under 12 I got the cane twice, one on my hand because my writing was so bad (still is) and once in front of the school on my behind because I threw a stone and broke a gas light with my school uniform on! Not too clever but I figured it out :-(
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Well that make sense give a child the cane across a hand the very thing needed to hold a pen to write
Easier to lash out rather than mentor.
Good shot on the stone throw !!!.
 
i wish this forum had a spell checker. its. awkward i have to look on google before i post the above post is not checked first.
 
mw0njm. said:
i wish this forum had a spell checker. its. awkward i have to look on google before i post the above post is not checked first.
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Pete, i`m a bit dyslexic myself & i use a programme called Grammarly to keep me right. It comes as an add-on with Firefox ( the best browser imo )
 
Smudger said:
Nice story telling, you would get an excellent from my old teacher.;) But seriously, they taught Latin at your school?:eek:
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Yes, this was at Stanley House School on Bristol Road. For slight wrongdoings you were sent to the Head. He would bend you over and whack you with a rubber gym shoe. He would then hug you and say, "And now we will be good friends." I've often wondered if he got some 'kicks' out of these punishments. Another teacher was just a vicious sod who preferred to dole out the punishment himself. Of course this was back in about 1960, but the old school building is still there but now part of a medical complex.
 
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mw0njm. said:
yes i am and was dislezic. my teacher used to call me stupid.and hit me with the cain for horrible writing..
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A girl in my class was dizlexic. I can't spell it sorry. She suffered insults from a child who called her thicko and the teacher who encouraged us to grass each other up and we would marked each others' work. So I would exchange papers with her and we use to give each other enough ticks to make it credible but not too many too arouse suspicion. So this apology for a teacher encouraged duplicity and cheating amongst us.
What really pleased me was I could play the piano better than the teacher could and she knew I could. So I never got to play it and she kept me down. Others got to play their guitars accordian recorders and violins and the glockenshpiel, I can't spell him either.
 
I went to Bournville Boys in mid to late 60's and corporal punishment was common. Mainly a ruler across the knuckles or the 'pump' or 'slipper' across the backside. A couple of well aimed chalkboard rubbers too. Just once I had the cane from the deputy head. Six of the best on the backside. It really hurt like the blazes but of course I walked out smirking and swaggering along the corridor in case my peers saw me. I probably earned these punishments and I don't think they did me any harm, but I'm glad those times are behind us.
 
BrummyPaul said:
I went to Bournville Boys in mid to late 60's and corporal punishment was common. Mainly a ruler across the knuckles or the 'pump' or 'slipper' across the backside. A couple of well aimed chalkboard rubbers too. Just once I had the cane from the deputy head. Six of the best on the backside. It really hurt like the blazes but of course I walked out smirking and swaggering along the corridor in case my peers saw me. I probably earned these punishments and I don't think they did me any harm, but I'm glad those times are behind us.
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probably, but there were other ways to chastise pupils,without inflicting pain
 
Violence has never been a deterrent, violence begets violence.

Violence is for people who have run out of excuses, it’s abuse. Its an easy get out to say it never did me any harm, when I reality, violence and abuse does irreparable harm.

Lots of children in this era were not only subject to violence, bullying and abuse in schools, they also suffered violence and abuse at home. Schools should be a safe place for children and the teachers should be professional in their job, that’s is what they are paid to do.
 
Morturn said:
Violence has never been a deterrent, violence begets violence.

Violence is for people who have run out of excuses, it’s abuse. Its an easy get out to say it never did me any harm, when I reality, violence and abuse does irreparable harm.

Lots of children in this era were not only subject to violence, bullying and abuse in schools, they also suffered violence and abuse at home. Schools should be a safe place for children and the teachers should be professional in their job, that’s is what they are paid to do.
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The teachers that we, of my generation (I was born in 1941), were exposed to, should have been employed somwhere else. Two of them that I remember, were ex - RAF aircrew, one of them had a metal plate in his head and when the weather was affecting him, he would be extremely violent.
The Socialist government of the day was assigning ex - service people to employment relevant to their qualifiations.
We were battered in Junior school by people who should not have been allowed anywhere near children.
I am not not one of those who say "It did me no harm". I grew up with a hatred of anybody with a " Posh" accent.
 
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When I was about 12 in Cromwell street school, the caretaker would open the playground in the holidays for us to play football, after the holidays I had 6 of the best most times for climbing on the roof to retrieve the ball.
 
Thank you all very much for recording your memories of school. This is one of the unsavoury aspects of past school life for many of us. Moderators believe those experiences have now been well reflected in this thread and, as the thread is an old one, it’s time to close it down.

Viv.
 
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