Book: The Dominie. 4

 In the final extract from The Dominie, a history of the Scottish headmaster by William (Bill) Fyfe Hendrie, himself an experienced headmaster and prolific writer, we learn that masters often lost their jobs because either they were too severe dishing out school punishments, or they were not severe enough.

‘No matter how many strokes of the tawse dominies deemed it necessary for their scholars to receive to keep them in lie and learning diligently, they were expected to be sufficiently practised and skilled in their administration to ensure that they did not cause bruises, weals, or worst of all draw blood. The masters were also expected to restrict their chastisements of pupils to strokes of their straps on the fingers, palms of the hands, backs of their thighs, or buttocks.’

For more extracts from The Dominie, click here.

The Dominie, A Profile of the Scottish Headmaster, (John Donald Publishers, Edinburgh, 1997)

Picture credit: The Dominie Functions, George Harvey, mid-19th c. © The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum via ArtUK (Threadinburgh).

Traditional School Discipline

Traditionalschooldiscipline@gmail.com