New head intends to cane
A newly-appointed headmaster was at pains
to emphasise he believed the cane was the best method of whacking schoolboys …
As
published in the Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia) · 12 April 1951
Picture credit: Generated by
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
Traditionalschooldiscipline@gmail.com
He's not going to get him when he's sitting down. Has AI messed this one up?
ReplyDeleteAI often misunderstands or ignores the mechanics of how a spanking actually works. But it's not a completely unreasonable scene. Plenty of human-drawn spanking pics have the teacher or parents brandishing a spanking implement. And presumably giving a lecture. Instead of showing the spanking actually in progress.
DeleteOf course the seating arrangement is the wrong way round. Because normally the headmaster would give the lecture while sitting at his desk. With the naughty boy standing in front of him. "On the carpet." I've seen a few AI pics with the kid sitting and the adult standing.
I notice the use of the word 'spanking' in these comments rather than caning, beating, slippering. To me it seems to be what you do to a child rather than a teenager.
DeleteYes let's leave spanking out of this.
DeleteThe kid in the pic is still a child tho, not an adult. And "beating" wasn't usually a literal description of what happened. Actually it had already fallen out of favour by 1940. As you will have read in "Book of the month: Public School Slang" blog post a few days ago.
DeleteHasn't he got lovely knees? AI has portrayed a beautifully presented boy.
DeleteReally? They were called beatings when l was at public school in the 1950's.
DeleteBlack socks with light grey shorts?
ReplyDeleteMy school allows something almost like that for year 7 to year 11. Altho I've never seen anyone that age try to wear shorts instead of uniform trousers. (It happens in some secondary schools apparently. Some secondary boys wear skirts in protest if the school rules don't allow short trousers. And lots of primary schools let kids wear short trousers.)
DeleteBut normal people just get grey socks and black trousers.
My school also used to allow grey shirts instead of white but that's daft too because I think white shirts are sold more places than grey ones anyway. And maybe cheaper too.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteApparently Cranbrook is a large independent school in Sydney. (It still exists and still has a house system, a highly-qualified headmaster and a small number of boarding pupils. For the time being, it's still an all-boys school.) So it's not surprising that the Sydney Daily Telegraph talks about the school without any further explanation.
ReplyDeleteBCPA was "British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines", later merged with Qantas. The newspaper is glorifying the idea of an eminent headmaster from posh British independent schools coming to reinforce one of Australia's equivalents. While also continuing Cranbrook's existing tradition as mentioned. It was not unusual in the 19th and 20th centuries for communities in Australia and New Zealand to recruit British headmasters to create British-style schools on the other side of the world.
There is a wide variety of Antipodean schools that had a proud caning tradition. Joseph Mercurio's work "Caning An Educational Ritual" talked about the similar tradition at Christchurch Boys' High in New Zealand. But that was a state school. So very different but also in some ways similar. Just like lots of British 20th century grammar schools that did their best to imitate much more famous and much older British independent schools.
Are there still grammar schools in UK?
DeleteYes there are still grammar schools in the UK. After about 1980 society in the UK disapproved of the 1945 model of grammar schools where boys who did well in the "eleven plus" examination went to grammar school, and other boys could not. So most parts of the UK don't have grammar schools any more. But some do. I guess dozens of schools with tens of thousands of pupils?
DeleteThere are also some UK schools that existed before the 1945 model that are still called grammar schools and are still similar in some ways.
But also probably most secondary schools in the UK now have a blazer as part of their uniform (or at least a compulsory formal uniform that looks kind of similar to 20th century grammar schools) so you wouldn't really know the difference. Lots of ordinary "academy" state secondary schools (previously comprehensive schools) have a uniform including buttoned shirt, school tie, school blazer, trousers, socks and shoes of specific colour. No trainers, no jeans. Just like Duckworth's grammar school in P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang.
I have been told that a "selective school" in Sydney is a very special separate thing all of its own, and a state school instead of an independent school. Probably they have similar uniforms too.
Don't forget the above quote from Australua was in 1951. 74 years ago. Every school is a great deal different now from what it was then.
ReplyDeleteAre you suggesting that the current headmaster of Cranbrook school, Dr Johnstone, would *not* agree with the quote that military cadet training "teaches boys leadership"?
DeleteWhat do you make of the Four Corners investigation into the school?
There is a very good caning video here of a boy called Robin Palmer in grey school trousers bending over a chair for nine strokes. Very effective looking. I hope he was well paid. For sure this was real not acted.
ReplyDeleteCurious how the subject of school canings still gets us all interested!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely has me interested!
DeleteMe too!
DeleteJohn Finnemore (1863-1915) wrote a series of school stories about Teddy Lester at Slapton School in the early 20th century. At least one caning (or beating) in every book. More about him on line.
ReplyDeleteHowever we try to wriggle out of it we do like boys being caned! Looked at this smart alec here called Barrington!
DeleteMay l ask you, Lucas, whether you have personal experience of caning boys or of being caned? In case you feel unhappy at owning up l will admit to both, except that l was not allowed to cane younger boys but only to slipper them, because l was not a prefect. Prefects were allowed to cane and they did with relish. But as a younger boy l was caned and slippered.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteNo answer. Maybe l should not have asked.
ReplyDeleteMay l reply instead of Lucas? I was caned at school and then l caned boys as a teacher up to being a head teacher by which time cp was banned in state schools.
DeleteI only just about managed to keep still when l was beaten and only once did a boy l was beating move.
I so much admired boys who immediately bent down for the slipper when ordered to, touched the floor and kept still while l beat them as hard as l could, always six strokes. No complaints and no parents came to complain.
I wish l could have watched you. I would have admired them too. Were the boys in shorts or trousers?
ReplyDeleteMight be either; usually in shorts up to age 9 and then trousers from ten upwards.
DeleteSo what was the oldest boy you have ever beaten?
ReplyDeleteIn school age 11 because l have only taught in primary schools but as a prefect at public school l caned boys up to age 16.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteAll sorts of things: avoiding games, late into bed; neglecting duties; bullying younger boys; talking in prep; running in corridors - and many more.
ReplyDeleteHow did you set about a caning?
ReplyDeleteThe prefects' study was big enough to swing a cane in and bring it down on to a boy's bottom without hitting anything else on the way! The victim would be ordered to attend the session after previous questioning and ordered to bend down and keep still. After his six he would be told he could get up and go. He did not have to shake hands and say thank you!
ReplyDeleteDid you enjoy beating them?
ReplyDeleteVery much so, but in the dormitory with a slipper on pyjamas in the dark was better, more private and no word spoken except 'Smith get out of bed and come over here...get back into bed'. And the feel of slipper on taut bottom.
ReplyDeleteThis blog isn’t intended as a venue to exchange person memories. If you want to do that try something like www.cprem-forum.com
DeleteOur comments have to be 'approved' now. I wonder by whom.
ReplyDeleteThe owner of this blog.
DeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments people have been leaving. There has recently been quite an influx.
Please may I remind you that this blog isn’t intended as a place to exchange personal memories. If you want to do that try some place like www.cprem-forum.com
Also, I’m a bit worried that so many posts are ‘anonymous’; this makes it difficult to follow threads. It’s not clear if it’s one person, two persons, three persons etc commenting. I’d prefer it if people used names when commenting (assumed / pen names are fine).
It’s more than five years since I started this blog and there’s been no issues with commenting so far and I hope that can continue.
Best wishes
Charles (Blog owner and sole moderator)