# Ever get "the strap" in school. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902 "2011-11-04T23:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/62 "2013-12-05T05:34:05Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > We got the cane at my school, in Australia, in the early to mid-1980s. > > The cane (across the upturned hand) was frequently given to boys in the boarding section of the school for various infractions, from talking after lights-out to rough-housing in the dormitories to failing to complete homework. > > I received the cane on two occasions in Grade 7 (1 stroke, and 4 strokes), and once in Grade 9 (4 strokes). But i was a pretty good kid. I think the record among my Grade 7 friends was a total of something like 80 or 90 strokes over the course of the year, and the winner took considerable pride in his accomplishment. > > The cane was usually administered at a side entrance to the Teachers’ Residence, and if a teacher told you to “Go to the side door,” you knew that you were going to be caned. Students standing along the wall by the side door were often taunted by other students as they awaited their punishment. > > The school had about 300 boarding students and about 600 day students, but the cane was very rarely given in the day school. It was almost exclusively used in the boarding school. > > By the time i left at the end of 1986, corporal punishment was declining in frequency, although some teachers still used it. I got the cane too, although I didn’t attend a boarding school just a government primary and secondary school in rural NSW Australia. Never got “the cuts” (as they were called) in primary school but got it a few times in early high school. One time was in about year 8, the PE teacher was running late, we got told to get into our sport clothes and wait outside in the bloody cold. We got bored and started rock roofing some of the other classrooms (through stones up on the corrugated iron roofs), and got caught by the deputy principal. 2 on each hand, right across the tips of the fingers. They started phasing it out in about 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/63 "2013-12-05T13:58:32Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I was paddled the first day of the first grade. Apparently, I liked to talk and wouldn’t sit still. > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > The vast majority of my paddlings at school were a direct result of talking in class and not sitting still. And that’s how we dealt with ADHD back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/64 "2013-12-05T14:49:28Z")
Yep. I graduated high school in Oklahoma in 1980. Corporal punishment was in used until after I graduated. I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I’m all for it. I never received a ‘busting’ that I didn’t deserve. This was back in the day when teachers were allowed to control their classrooms. [I think this comic sums it up nicely](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wS7_wLPE4lM/T7z-V2k1TvI/AAAAAAAA9OM/3eloeHGmH0E/w506-h337/49.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/65 "2013-12-05T15:07:17Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Cornholio](#): > > I imagine the threat of the strap across one’s wrists/hands would keep most sensible kids in line, but still, it’s a fearsome implement and I’d perhaps only approve of its use in only the most serious of circumstances. Alas, I gather that some teachers would be whacking away for all manner of minor transgressions, which to me is out of order, it’s not something to chuck about willy-nilly. \ > > \*Edit. Holy shit, the Dick family are still making and selling them as “for collectors only” : > [http://www.johndick-leathergoods.co.uk/the\_lochgelly\_tawse\_online.htm](http://www.johndick-leathergoods.co.uk/the_lochgelly_tawse_online.htm) As far as I know teachers were always supposed to avoid hitting the wrist as that was possibly dangerous. If a teacher did hit too far up the hand onto the wrist he or she did occasionally apologise, and try to get the next one more on target. But they’d get a reputation for being crap at giving the strap among the pupils if it happened more than once or twice. The strap was a known risk but every teacher’s ‘strapping point’ was different so behaviour from class to class varied, sometimes quite widely. My sister was a teacher for several years in the 1970s and had a Loch Gelly from John Dick’s and kept it for years but I think she must have chucked it out before she died as it wasn’t among her possessions when I had to go through them. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/66 "2013-12-05T16:11:34Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > Once in elementary school, I forget why. Paddle across my butt. > > In high school, we had a short, dark haired assistant principal, whom the student body had nicknamed Tattoo (from Fantasy Island). He was universally hated. My friend and I were already a.) out of class without permission, b) going up the down staircase, and c) had been off smoking in the bathroom and no doubt reeked of it so we were already up shit creek. Therefore we decided we’d yell, “De Plane! De Plane!” and…get away somehow? Profit? Not sure we had a great plan after that. > > I was offered three licks or three days - the catch being that if I took the three day suspension my guardian would be called. I took the three licks with a wooden paddle from Tattoo himself, who normally delegated such things. Hurt like a bitch and I suspect he put a bit of English on it to make it worse. > > 1986, Mississippi You really had up and down staircases?😕 I read the book _Up the Down Staircase_ but I didn’t know they really existed. All our stairs went up and down and you stayed to the right, just like driving. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/67 "2013-12-05T18:32:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And that’s how we dealt with ADHD back in the day. No prescription needed! ---
**Author:** ![codgerone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@codgerone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codgerone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/68 "2013-12-05T21:28:04Z")
My school used the strap or tawse. If I recall correctly it was a heavy leather strap that was split in two at the dangerous end. Being a slow learner I had three or four strappings before I figured out it was less painful to just behave myself. English catholic grammar school early 1970s ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/69 "2013-12-05T21:53:20Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And that’s how we dealt with ADHD back in the day. Yet another reason I thank fuck that I’m not living “back in the day.” ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/70 "2013-12-06T00:08:30Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > You really had up and down staircases?😕 > I read the book _Up the Down Staircase_ but I didn’t know they really existed. > All our stairs went up and down and you stayed to the right, just like driving. Sure - if you have 500 or so students changing classes all at once, possibly with a locker upstairs to get to and then back to a classroom downstairs, you should have an up only and down only staircase to keep people moving. You can walk right, but the up/down way is more efficient and you can get more kids on the staircase at once. Plus, you know, it’s fun to go up the down staircase if you’re being a defiant little shit, too. 🙂 Can’t do that if you can use the stairs willy-nilly! ETA: The net result - at least in my school, was that traffic flow was mostly then in a big circle from down to across (and by the lockers and classrooms) then up the far end and across (again by lockers and classrooms) to the down staircase again. So it was more efficient. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/71 "2013-12-06T00:51:41Z")
Wow, school in Minnesota in late 60s through the 70s. I never saw anyone get whacked, even with a ruler. One teacher should us his paddle with air holes to make it go faster but he had never been reported using it. I guess we were way ahead of the curve. We often did have a desk or two up front where misbehaving children got to sit so they could be watched at all times and, of course, there was always the threat of being sent to the principal’s office but that was all there was. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/72 "2013-12-06T03:16:43Z")
Once, in Jr High, 1970 or 71, Mr. Riegle, the principal, with a board or paddle of some sort. He hit pretty hard, though not as hard as my father. I don’t remember what it was for. Most likely, I was guilty of something, but not exactly what I was getting punished for. The vice principle, Mr. Keen, used to very often say in speeches or when someone was misbehaving, “I’m gonna whop your can, son!” but as far as I know, he never did. Anyway, no major harm done. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/73 "2013-12-06T03:22:58Z")
Sister Holy Innocent paddled my friend and I for coming in early from recess when it was below freezing outside with 2 ft. of snow. We were huddled inside the doors of the school shivering in our little Catholic school girl skirts when she caught us. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/74 "2013-12-06T03:36:48Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Yet another reason I thank fuck that I’m not living “back in the day.” Yes, this thread pretty much confirms my opinion that a great many teachers of the past went into teaching so they could beat on kids. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/75 "2013-12-06T03:44:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yes, this thread pretty much confirms my opinion that a great many teachers of the past went into teaching so they could beat on kids. No. Not at all. It was just the societal norm of the day, like smoking in public, drinking and driving, and homophobia: nothing more, nothing less. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/76 "2013-12-06T04:34:41Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No. Not at all. It was just the societal norm of the day, like smoking in public, drinking and driving, and homophobia: nothing more, nothing less. Social norm or not, if as random adults they started beating on children I’d expect there’d be a serious risk of them getting beaten in return by the kid’s parents. Being teachers gave the the opportunity to justify it as “discipline” instead of sadism. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/77 "2013-12-06T05:24:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Social norm or not, if as random adults they started beating on children I’d expect there’d be a serious risk of them getting beaten in return by the kid’s parents. Being teachers gave the the opportunity to justify it as “discipline” instead of sadism. Yes, parents reserved the right to beat their children ( out of school ) to themselves. BTW Singapore still canes children for vandalism in public. Remember the US kid that was spraying cars. Needless to say, they don’t have much of a child vandal problem. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/78 "2013-12-06T06:19:12Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > BTW Singapore still canes children for vandalism in public. Remember the US kid that was spraying cars. > Needless to say, they don’t have much of a child vandal problem. I expect they have a child abuse problem, though. And plenty of general brutality; because inflicting brutality creates _more_ brutality. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/79 "2013-12-06T17:30:55Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Yes, parents reserved the right to beat their children ( out of school ) to themselves. > BTW Singapore still canes children for vandalism in public. Remember the US kid that was spraying cars. > Needless to say, they don’t have much of a child vandal problem. They would also not have a child vandal problem if they simply summarily murdered all children. One wonders why this solution has not occurred to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/80 "2013-12-07T02:22:19Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No. They’d have had to physically overpower me to apply it, and I’d have done my best to hurt them back. Almost certainly with parental approval afterward. Look at me, agreeing with Der Trihs, completely. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902/81 "2013-12-07T03:14:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And that’s how we dealt with ADHD back in the day. As well as kids who were the wrong gender, or wrong color, or had the wrong last name, or lived in the wrong neighborhood, etc. :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-the-strap-in-school/601902.md?page=5)