corporal punishment
in schools
any new or
updated information is marked with *
schoolgirl
corporal punishment in the uk
caning was used in various uk
schools before it`s use in state schools was outlawed by just 1
vote in parliament in 1987, the ban did not include public
schools but many decided to phase it out soon after. caning
policy varied from school to school before the ban, many mixed
and all girls schools made girls exempt from caning and all
corporal punishment, where-as some schools used only the slipper
on girls. but there were plenty of schools around that used the
cane on girls, some very rarely, some more frequently. the cane
was administered to either the palms of the hands or the
buttocks.
the
rodney co-educational boarding school in nottinghamshire,
England, (pictured left) was the scene of probably the last of
the well publicised canings of schoolgirls, and retained the use
of the cane up until the total ban on corporal punishment in uk
schools in mid 1998, the headmaster caned the boys and the school
founder, ms. joan thomas, caned the girls. in march 1991 five
11/12 year old girls were caught sneaking into the boys dormitory
at night. the girls parents were contacted about the incident and
given the choice that the girls were to be either expelled or
caned, all the parents chose the cane and all five girls were
summoned to ms. thomas` study the day after the incident to be
punished. all the girls were caned on their hands and bottoms,
and the girl that was said to be the ringleader recieved the more
severe punishment of the 5, she was given 7 strokes on her hands
and 5 strokes on her bottom.
in 1984 the sunday times newspaper published
an article about three schoolgirls who were each given eight
strokes of the cane on their bottoms from their headmistress with
their skirts raised for stealing a total of about twelve pounds
from some other girls at the school. the three girls, two eleven
and one twelve year old, were given the choice of being expelled
from school or taking a caning, all three chose the caning.
in the late 1970s a church of england
secondary school called bacon`s, in london`s docklands, was known
to cane more girls than any other uk school. more than two
hundred canings were administered to girls in one school year.
in 1976 the headmaster at camden square school
in county durham held a fifteen year old girl down over a
platform while a female member of the teaching staff administered
six strokes of the cane to her bottom. the headmaster later
recieved complaints for his part in the caning.
in a magazine article a lady named, jackie,
recalled a strict caning regime at a north romford comprehensive
school in the early 1960s. she recalled that: "mere
insolence meant the stick for boys or girls." and she also
commented: "i well recall having to bend over for eight of
the best across thin gym pants for a second offence of smoking at
the age of fifteen."
in 1976 the daily telegraph newspaper featured
a report about a fourteen year old girl at northwich girls
grammar school who was given three strokes of the cane on her
bottom by headmistress, janet dines, for eating crisps in a
lesson. in the report the caned girl, lynne simmons, commented
that she was ordered to pull up her dress and bend over for the
caning. a doctor who examined the girl reported that there were
three red cane weals on her buttocks, one of which was fourteen
inches long. the headmistress was taken to court after a
complaint but was cleared.
in her book called child of a system a lady
called, noele arden, recalls the discipline at an approved school
in the 1950s called ,st. christopher`s place, near liverpool. she
recalls being caned on her hands before the entire school for
making a fuss about some items of hers that had been stolen. she
also recalls running away from the school with another girl but
being sent back by the girl`s mother. when they returned, the
girls were taken in front of the entire school and both made to
bend over a chair for a public caning on their bottoms.
*
in
a magazine article, sue nicholson, (pictured left) talked about
the 13 years (from 1964-77) she spent with 2 of her brothers at
the moorlands boarding school in lancashire, England. and in the
article she mentioned that "the cane was still used on girls
as well as boys." her brother, howard, also talking of their
time at the private school, said: "we learned respect,
politeness, discipline. we were caned, but we knew the
boundaries. school gave us an edge. we learned to mix in a strata
of society.
schoolgirl
corporal punishment in the usa
paddling is still commonly used in schools in the usa.
about half of the states in america still use the paddle
especially the southern states. girls are paddled almost as often
as boys, even pupils of 16, 17 and over can be paddled. the
paddle is a flat wooden board which can vary slighly in design,
length and thickness. some paddles have holes drilled in them to
make them more aero dynamic, increasing the speed of the delivery
of the swat making it more painful and more damaging. the paddle
is designed to be administered to the buttocks only. it is common
for pupils to be given the choice of taking a paddling or a
punishment like suspension, for example five days suspension or a
swat of the paddle for each day instead. or some schools may give
a pupil two chances then on the third offence it`s a paddling.
in 1981 at the dunn high school in dunn north
carolina seventeen year old shelley gahsperson was given six hard
swats of the paddle on her butt from a six foot two, fourteen
stone football coach assistant principal for skipping school for
a day. she was originally put on an in-school suspension for six
days which meant that she had to study in a room on her own for
that period of time. but after three days she felt she wasn`t
being given the proper work to keep up with her important
schoolwork and asked the assistant principal for an alternative
form of punishment. he said that the only alternative was
corporal punishment and that she would have to take three swats
of the paddle for each of the remaining three days left on the
in-school suspension. the following day shelley made up her mind
to go and see the assistant principal to take her nine swats, the
assistant principal told her that six swats would be enough, she
then had to bend over a desk for the paddling. two other girls
were also in the study for a spanking that day, also for skipping
school. the assistant principal produced a paddle about two feet
long, six inches wide, and a quarter of an inch thick. he then
gave each girl two swats at a time. three years later shelley
told a senate commitee: "i could not take all six of them at
one time, it was two at a time because the pain was so
terrible." she also commented: "it was the worst pain i
have ever felt in my life, both my buttocks were severely
bruised."
in 1991 fourteen year old, renee mull, of
lamarque junior high school in texas was given five hard swats of
the paddle on her butt for persistent late arrival to school.
renee refused to bend over for the punishment because she thought
she hadn`t commited a paddling offence, but the teacher called
for assistance and had the girl held down over a table by two
members of the teaching staff for the paddling.
kimberly jones, an honours student of bartow
high school near tampa florida was given the choice of a three
days suspension or three swats of the paddle for parking her car
on the school`s manicured lawns. kimberly chose the paddling.
in 1981 at lake stevens junior high school the
principal administered a staggering eight hundred and seventy
four paddlings, about two hundred and twenty were administered to
the butts of girls. one thirteen year old girl described a
paddling she recieved, commenting: "you have to bend over
the back of an armchair and rest your hands on the seat, and then
you get paddled. i got two licks." when asked to describe
the paddling not suprisingly she said: "it hurts."
fifteen year old, tamara may, of mesquite high
school in mesquite texas was due to be paddled for the second
time in a year before her mother ann torbert complained. the
school opposed mrs torbert`s view by insisting that their right
to maintain authority was at stake. mrs torbert eventually agreed
that tamara did deserve punishment but insisted that she would
come to the school and punish her daughter herself, which was
agreed. mrs torbert arrived at the school with a thick leather
belt, tammy then had to bend over the desk in the principal`s
study and was given ten whacks with the belt on her butt. one of
the assistant principals who witnessed the punishment commented:
"tammy would have been better off taking the paddle swats
from us: her mom really sizzled her behind with that strap."
(enter
for mrs torbert picture)
twenty-seven states
have abolished school corporal punishment. yet, the practice
continues with twenty three states still allowing the use of
corporal punishment in schools. over 470,000 students were
paddled in the 1993-94 school year (statistics from the U.S.
department of education). in arkansas, over 13 percent of
students were subjected to corporal punishment. in the second
big-hitter state, mississippi, almost 11 percent of students were
spanked.
*the photograph on the left was taken on
open day 1990 at matamuskeet high school in north carolina. the 2
paddles are classroom paddles, on careful inspection you will see
room 5 written on the top paddle. the principal`s office paddle
would likely be slightly thicker and heavier.
american
states that still use the paddle in schools
alabama, arizona,
arkansas, colorado, delaware, florida, georgia, idaho, indiana,
kansas, kentucky, louisiana, missouri, mississippi, new mexico,
north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, south carolina,
tennessee, texas, wyoming.