What’s the worst punishment you can remember a school dishing out to its pupils?
I ask this because a feature caught my eye in a magazine from my husband’s old school, George Heriot’s in Edinburgh. The archive department is looking for material to complete a report on the school’s history. They already have a fascinating collection such as Andy Irvine’s Scottish cap from 1973, a pair of crumbling ‘breeks’ (trousers) from 1700 and a letter from Queen Anne asking the school for the sum of £200!
However the department is also on the look out for further information on events in the school’s history where their collection is a little light. In this list they ask for more information about the school in the war years, request a copy of the film made by STV of the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit in 1961 and they hope someone may have a recording of a televised school service broadcast from Greyfriars Kirk in 1962.
But I also spotted the following:
“The cancellation of the mid-term holiday in February 1964 because of the boys’ bad behaviour”
What on earth did the naughty boys do in 1964 to cause such a blanket punishment to the whole school, as I’m assuming all primary and secondary pupils were included? It must have been pretty severe as surely teachers would have had their holidays cancelled too. Can you imagine the uproar today if a school took such a stance? There’d be hell on. All those February skiing holidays booked?
I asked Dougie if he knew the reason but as he was born in 1964 he has no idea. I can’t find any reference to it on the internet. I’ll probably have to wait until the archive report is published to discover what heinous crime was committed. Rory thinks that as it was the 1960s it could be drugs, Dougie thinks it’s more likely to have been a huge fight between rival schools.
Does anyone out there know? Can anyone better this with an alternative school punishment?
Wow, today there'd be legal action taken by the parents if the school decided to cancel a holiday.
I can't better that punishment I'm afraid. I remember that sometimes the class was kept in for something, but that's about it. Tame in comparison.
Apparently one of the boys wrote "there" instead of "their" so of course there was no alternative but to punish the whole school (to encourage the others).
Incidently, I also think it should be a squared times c1 cubed divided by 38 and not the 39 shown in your illustration but that, in itself, wouldn't justify cancelling a school holiday would it – just sack the teacher!
@Sarah – I know, can see the headlines now!
@Troy – That sounds reasonable to me.
@Troy – Heavens, is it really 38? Will have to get my blackboard rubber out and start again – I must take more time with my equations 😉
The worst we ever had was mass detention – the entire class for a week, just because of a couple of troublemakers. This doesn't include all the unofficial punishements though… like boys having their heads slammed by their desk lids or wooden chalk rubbers being thrown at people.
Ah… those were the days.
@Steve – I remember the blackboard rubbers too but thankfully wasn't walloped by one. I'll have to ask my son if lads still clonk each other with desk lids!
My whole school was kept for detention when I was at middle school. We had a dragon of a teacher, who decided we all had to stay behind and line up properly after break time because we hadn't done it to her satisfaction. She actually decided we had to stay behind for 2 or 3 days.
However, my mother went mad. We used to walk home from school, me and my sister, and obviously we were late home that day. My mother, never one to be scared of a conflict, rang the headmistress – who was also quite scary, it has to be said – and the whole school detention was cancelled forthwith. The teacher, even then, should have given notice of such a thing and really, as a punishment, it was rather disproportional.
Fantastic idea. We really should start learning from our forefathers experiences. Given that the crime rates soar everytime there is a school holiday I recommend that all school holidays are cancelled hence forth. (and that's why I'll never be elected!)
Ooooo…what on earth did they do? You must let us know…..
It must have been something very serious to cancel the entire holiday, as you say there is no way that it would happen today.
I too remember fondly dodging flying chalk rubbers and having the back of my hand smacked with a ruler. I think in my junior school spanking may have still occured in the early years, although being a good(ish) girl it never happened to me.
Hilarious! I work in a school and the way some of the (ghastly) parents react to a single half hour detention for their little darlings, you would think the world had come to an end. Imagine cancelling a whole half term holiday :-O Mind you, the staff would never stand for it either!
1964? Maybe Rory's right: drugs, hippies, free love, sit-ins, long hair, and (gasp) The Beatles! Just think of all the anti-social behavior there must have been for the poor Headmaster to try and squelch!
While I've never experienced any kind of severe mass punishment (or seen it doled out myself) I did teach in a southern state in the US where it was still permissible to paddle (corporal punishment) a child who had proved intractable. It had to be done by the principal, of course, not the teacher. I never saw it done, but colleagues of mine did (there was a specifically prescribed process, and had to be witnesses, etc.) Still trying to get my mind around the fact that such a thing was still being done in schools in the 90s…
@kelloggsville – Let's keep you away from politics then haha!
@Libby – Have got a Scottish blogger, with contacts, on the case!
@Very Bored – You see, you were a good girl like me 🙂
@curry queen – I think you're spot on about parents in particular. I suspect the parents on this occasion would have accepted the school's decision. Will be interesting to find out.
@Ms Caroline – The whole idea of the paddle, and it being so organised and structured, just seems wrong, doesn't it. So glad corporal punishment has been stopped. My mother still recalls the pain and shame of being belted on the hand – quite barbaric.
My son's school expels anyone caught shoplifting on the spot. I can't help thinking that most of the schools in the UK would be empty if they all enforced the rule.
Kate – Sorry, I forgot to reply to you!! I think I like your mother a lot. Punishment is ok but parents should be informed if it means it affects time out of school.
Janerowena – Hello, thanks for commenting. I've never been convinced that expelling children does any good. They have to be educated somewhere so it doesn't deal with the problem, just moves it to another school.