How do you remember corporal punishment from your school days? ?

Question

I am one of those middle aged adults and parents who are appalled by the abysmally bad behaviour of most children in our public schools today. Many of us then end up calling for a return of corporal punishmnt in our schools today. But hold your horses! Do you truly remember what it was like?

Speaking for myself, during the 1970s when I was 12, I was attending a Catholic school in Kingston, Jamaica, and I had a class teacher named Sister Marie Chen. In the mornings when we arrived at school early, there would be a lot of noise from the conversations among us, but as we spotted Sister Chen coming, the class would abruptly become dead silent. After Sister Chen took roll call, she had us march out to the auditorium for our morning devotion.

Upon our return from devotion class would begin. Then Sister Chen would ask us to turn in the homework which she had set for us the day before. Woe betide those who didn't turn in theirs. Sister Chen had a strap and cane in the drawer of her desk which she kept locked when she was not in the classroom. She used the strap to whip you across your back or on your legs, and the cane for all other uses. I got the strap across the back on many occasions, all painful. You were also punished if you came to class late without a valid excuse, did not bring gym clothes on Fridays, cheated, brought comic books to class, talked in class, and for many other infractions.

Sister Chen would cane you on your hands at times and you would hear the cane slicing the air as it came down bringing pain to wherever it landed. She also reserved the cane for use on those with salient body features. There was a plump girl who had a very large deriere. Sister Chen caned her exclusively across her buttocks until she could not sit down. Meanwhile, there were two fat students, a boy and a girl, with very big bellies. His belly was so big that he rarely closed his shirts; hers was so big that it strained the seams of her one piece uniform. Sister Chen would cane them on their bellies until bruises appeared. Both of these students HAD TO to sit down after Sister Chen whipped them hard on their bellies. It looked painful.

The kind of horrors rampant in American schools today were unimaginable in those days. There are so many school shootings teachers and incidents of students embroiled in physical altercations with each other that I have had to send my children to school in the United Kingdom. In the USA today kids evidently have NO respect whatsoever for their teachers. Something has to be done to ameliorate that terrible trend.

Answer 1

As much as we all hated corporal punishment, it did make kids behave. However, most of the kids that behaved and excelled at school were not given corporal punishment. The discipline must have come from home as my and my siblings did. We knew up front, from out parents, that we would behave and do our work and not disrupt the educational process. I don't even remember being told what would happen, I just KNEW what would happen. Today's parents don't use any discipline at home, they expect the school to be the teachers and the parents. No one at home takes responsibility and these young people grow up expecting to do what they want to without any restraints. Parents have to stop taking drugs, stop being self centered, start being AT HOME, start being consistent, and start being responsible and mature, then their children will have someone to emulate.

Answer 2

if there was more punishment in the schools the world would be in a better place there wouldnt be any guns i think that corporal punishment is better than those kids that get out of hand getting the cane is better than shooting some kids and spending the rest of there lives in prison and the good kids dont have to be afriad every day they go to school are they going to be shot dead today bring it back i say

Answer 3

I am a middle aged adult and parent and I am very actively involved on a regular basis, right there in the classroom and on the playground with the kids of today.  And, while there are certainly some kids who sometimes misbehave and other kids who seem to always be behaving thoughtlessly & dangerously, the actual majority of the kids are doing pretty good.  Sure, they make mistakes every once in a while, but that's what childhood is for - learning from your mistakes.  But, even when they are making mistakes, you can tell that they are on a good path, with a desire to learn how to make good choices and a basic understanding of right and wrong.

I went to school in the 70's in the USA, first in a Catholic school, then in a public school.  There was no corporal punishment in either school that I know of (or in my home).  And, for the most part, kids then were about the same as the kids that I see now.  

Yes, there are children and adults in the world with mental disorders.  But, there were then, too.   And, I don't see what corporal punishment would do to help treat these illnesses.  

Answer 4

I agree with you.  Not about bringing back corporal punishment, but about the disgusting behaviour of children / teenagers today. I'm only 36 (and I live in Canada where it's not quite as bad as the US) but I remember a couple of teachers physically assaulting students.  It wasn't a regular occurrence, this one teacher had a serious anger management issue.  She was scary.  

Anyway, I don't think the issue lies with schools, I think it lies with parents.  Kids grow up not showing respect to any adult.  I also think the media plays a large role.  Incidents such as school shootings are way over- represented in the media, and it gives other kids ideas.  

Answer 5

Actually history tells us that most of the stuff going on in schools today (underage s*x, smoking , drinking, drug use, violence, etc.) was also going on decades ago and even centuries ago.   Psychology tells us that most people think their generations were more moral and better behaved than future generations even though facts don't tend to support those beliefs.  And part of that is the fact that news coverage tends to center around violent crimes much more now then they used to in the past.  Doesn't mean it wasn't happening, it just wasn't being reported on.   So, really, things aren't as dire as you may think.