UK men - Did you get the cane at school?

we had a big wide paddle here in San Francisco of all places....and it was used....rarely.

I thought so. For most of those perverted schoolmasters, the palm of the hand was a preferred tawse target.

Your PE teacher beat kids with a shoe? Sadistic bastard!

This is all pretty recent history in the UK.

A plimsol was usually used on younger children - say up to about 12. It was usually called a slipper/slippering, but in fact much more substantial than a slipper.

The cane was standard in most schools in England.

The belt or tawse seems to have been more common in the north of England and Scotland, basically used instead of the cane. Not sure what happened in Wales, NI or indeed the Irish Republic.

The ruler was also used - a 12" wooden ruler whacked across the knuckles. It could be used either flat or edge on.

In earlier times these punishments were used frequently, and there must be lots of examples of sadistic masters. By the 1970s and 1980s they were much less common - my school in the 1980s used the cane perhaps once a month - and were regulated within schools, and punishment carried out with the agreement of parents.

Corporal punishment is brutal, can be abused, and it is easy to point out what is wrong with it. However the alternatives are pretty dire also. British schools now use sarcasm, humiliation, detention, extra work, suspension, report systems - stuff which cumulatively can be a whole lot worse than the short, sharp shock of corporal punishment. As a system it worked in ensuring discipline, was a very effective deterrent, and avoided the problems of suspensions and the like. Kids who were caned gained a certain credibility among their peers while at the same time being persuaded to mend their ways.

Corporal punishment is extensively used in Britian today by the armed forces, along with various forms of humiliation.

I can't remember which comedienne said something along the lines of, "I don't beat my children. Mental cruelty works just as well and the scars don't show."

The plimsol is basically a boat shoe - thick, heavy rubber sole which hurts a lot when get hit by it.

I must admit I'm in favour of corporal punishment, but within strict guidelines. A quick smack is much more effective than an hour-long lecture when it comes to showing a child that his/her behaviour is unacceptable and doesn't interfere drastically with his/her education. Saying that, I remember teachers who kept discipline in a class without having to resort to punishment or intimidation. They were the best teachers, but unfortunately, I don't think it's a skill that can be taught. You've either got it or you haven't.

the title of this thread.....gave me a chubby.

Sunday bump

I had a Geography Teacher who kept a size 12 plimsol on a hook at the side of his desk in full view. I was never on the receiving end of it but many of my pals were.

He was a twisted, evil tempered bastard. I hope he had the truly miserable life he deserved.

I did. In Wales in early 1980s.

*bump*

No.

*nudge*

We had a system at the school I attended, if caught doing anything wrong you were issued with a chit. This was a 3 x 4 inch piece of paper on which your name, date, offence and in a circle in the bottom righthand corner indicating the number of strokes. Anything upto six stokes of the tawes could be requested by the teacher issuing the chit. You then went along to the infamous ROOM 17 either at break and lunch times or after school at 4pm. There you queued waiting for the member of staff on chit duty for that week to arrive. You were then called in one by one and the punishment was executed.

Also been punished with a cricket and rounders bat, slipper, and wooden spoke out of a chair.

Sounds brutal but never did me any harm. kids of today are short of discipline. The possibility or threat of getting it is a far better deterant. It doesn't have to be used, but available if all else fails.

I didn't get the cane; I gave the cane, if you know what I mean .

I believe the cane hasn't been used for around 20 or 30 years in England. Maybe private schools still use it but no public schools do that I am aware of.

It was abolished in state schools in 1987 (the year I left!)

Private / Public schools kept it until the mid 1990s I think.

Completely abolished now.

PS - Although I statrted this poll, I made a mess of voting. I should not have ticked the last two options. I made a mistake entering them and ticked them not realising this.