Corporal punishment at school saw that pupils lived in fear
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Version 0 of 1. What a contrast in teachers is revealed in Saturday’s Journal (24 March). On the centre spread is an inspiring interview with the award-winning Andria Zafirakou, while on page 3 we find Ian Jack reminiscing about being “belted” at school. He came to the conclusion that this violence “had done me no harm”, but it is difficult to imagine any child could emerge unscathed. I certainly found that the corporal punishment at my South African boarding schools was like a reign of terror, under which boys went in fear of transgressing some arbitrary, usually senseless, rule.Tully PotterTonbridge, Kent • Ian Jack asks if being belted was harmful. Of course it was harmful! The emotional and physical harm done to children is not subject to shifting moralities. The thinking about it is. Child abuse is child abuse. I was belted three times. It was enduringly traumatic and continues to haunt me.Liz MiddletonLondon • I was never belted or hit. Nor was I ever aware of another child being hit. I must have been either very well-behaved, very fortunate, or very unaware. In city, then suburban state schools, I was certainly not mollycoddled, and I am of an age with Ian Jack, in education between 1950 and 1964. My habitual response to contemporaries saying, “It never did me any harm” is: “Did it do any good?” Probably the only benefit was to the teacher, who vented their anger, and possibly achieved peace until the end of the lesson.Jennifer GaleBideford, North Devon • At my far-from-rough Edinburgh school in the 60s, every Friday afternoon one of my teachers appeared to use the belt as a routine teaching aid by holding a spelling competition in which the class was invited to write words of his choosing on the blackboard; but it was made clear that if you made a mistake, you would be belted. One day I was challenged to spell the word “strength”. I missed out the “g” and received the punishment. I have not had trouble with that particular word since and developed a keen interest in careful spelling – but, like Ian Jack, felt the whole thing was unfair.Colin MacintoshAberfeldy, Perth and Kinross • All forms of corporal punishment demonstrate that – if you are more powerful, older, bigger and stronger – it is acceptable to deal with any behaviour that you find undesirable by using physical violence against the perpetrator. Is this the lesson some politicians learnt at school?Judith AbbsLondon • Interesting that Ian Jack has the tawse as Scottish. I always understood that this three-pronged leather strap was unique to Walsall, where the leather trade ensured plenty of scrap from which this instrument of torture was made. Certainly there were many in use in Walsall schools in the 1950s, though thankfully not on me!Roy BoffySutton Coldfield, West Midlands • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters Children Schools Teaching Health Scotland letters Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content |