h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In the schools i went to in the 60s and 70s corporal punishment was the norm.
Mostly a cane was used. To do that to an adult would be classed as grevious bodily harm. The marks lasted for several days, and sometimes weeks.
Over a 6 year period i must have received several hundred canings.
It made me realize that adults are not responsible enough to use corporal punishment.
What the teachers didnt know was that i had left the room. I felt nothing but utter disgust that they could get so much out of hurting someone who had done them or anyone else no harm.
Since then i have been involved with children of varying behavioral difficulties and yes once or twice it has been necessary to spank them. It made a great deal of difference, but the operative word was once or twice.
Children are not born with morals, essentially they are mostly a blank page, like all mammals.
Some children never need discipline, and in fact it would be a great mistake to do so, but above all a child needs to know you care; setting the boundaries is a good example.
One last blast, children change, can you keep up?

"several hundred"did i really say that - i meant well over a hundred -
at one school when caning didnt seem to work another punishment was tried, it made me so aggressive they called in a psychiatrists; for many years i thought it was to see if i had been damaged, now i realise it was to see if the school could be sued; that school has closed, i often wonder if some of the pupils took them on in court.
I dont expect any response to this - as there has been to other postings on this subject.
I would like to say that what happened to me was not unique; its a shame others are not prepared to talk about it. Perhaps the most shaming thing is that people accepted it, that is the ordinary person in the street, people just like you.

At 9 I was 'slippered' using what was called in England a pump nowadays we'd call it a tennis shoe.

At 11 our latin master favoured a length of rubber tubing called Wilberforce, which he used to beat boys. (I recall with delight his fury when "Wilberforce" was stolen, cut up, and spread on the gardens outside the window.)

At 12 our french master favoured a ruler across the knuckles, whilst our maths master liked to pick boys up by their sideburns.

At 13 my friend was knocked when our history master threw his briefcase at him.

The official school punishment ranged through 30 minute detentions, to 1 hour detentions, to 3 hour Saturday detentions, to canings. The joys of a grammer school education eh ?