What school punishments do you remember?

[OneUmberJoker]

Being shouted at in front of the entire class

In Primary school we were made to stand in the corner with your face to the wall. Slapped on the palm with a ruler. If particularly bad, only for boys, the Headmaster would come into the classroom, get the large 1m blackboard ruler, chalk something derogatory on it, make the boy bend over and whack him on the backside transferring the chalked word onto his trousers.

Secondary school, lines, the leather strap, canned or a particular teacher would throw the blackboard duster. Another would rap your knuckles with the side of a ruler.

Catholic primary in the early 80s: hit on the back of the legs with a ruler (can't remember what for); made to stand facing the wall in the classroom.

Secondary comp in the late 80s: detentions; lines; laps of the playing field; litter picking; chalk thrown at us.

secondary school ... sitting around 40 min or so in whole class detention

I had to sit on a chair in the main corridor and cut pieces of string for tying exam papers together, every lunchtime for a week. V much against this sort of punishment which is aimed at humiliating children.

Being hit across the palm with a ruler at infant school, boys would get sent to the Headmaster for the cane in senior school. Having to duck at the front of the science class as the wooden blackboard duster was thrown at the boys who sat at the back - This was all between 1974-79. My dad remembered a young girl being made to go up on stage in the assembly in front of the whole school whilst it was announced that she was pregnant. Apparently the senior year tried to walk out and were stopped, so they all turned their backs on the teachers on stage. This was probably around 1961

Being bent over a desk, skirt hoiked up and beaten on my bottom with a plimsoll in front of the whole class, for the crime of being 2 minutes late to assembly. I was about 7.

Three of us made to crawl up the corridor with all the full
classrooms off it, doors open. Age 10/11 then. Being hit with a ruler. Brother got the cane. South Africa in the 80/90s!

The slippers, if you were really naughty. I once got a slap on the legs as my legs weren’t tucked in at the lunch table. Got bollocked for elbows on the table.

I remember boys being caned at primary and middle school. I don't remember any girls being caned and I don't think the cane was used at my all girls high school. I got the ruler across my palm twice in infants. I got lines a couple of times.
At middle school there was a psycho teacher who used to throw a heavy glass paperweight at pupils and another who had a mini cricket bat that he used to hit people with. The deputy head was handy with his cane, he used to swish it while he walked around.
I started school in 1966.

I went to boarding school in the 80s. The worst punishment was a public bath. The other girls had to gather round to watch while you were bathed by the housemistress.

Stand on tiptoes and a circle drawn in front of your nose, and then having to stand with your nose in the circle.

That’s actually so brutal and touching, it choked me up a bit.

I should add in front of the blackboard.

Omg these are horrific

This is why the older generations are so resilient.

The belt and lines. Lots and lots of lines.

In fact, we had it relatively easy. I had a great aunt who grew up in the 1890s. You should hear what they had to endure.

Primary school in the 1970’s - being hit with a ruler on the hand if you were naughty - we would have been in year 1 equivalent. Secondary school in the 1980’s - lots of shaming - eg if you had been naughty you had to stand up during assembly as everyone came in and sat down (I presume so everyone could see your shame lol).

Mid 80s being rapped across the knuckles with huge, metal scissors for accidentally tearing a piece of paper.

Late 80s being made to sit in the classroom doing lines in French as we'd set off a stink bomb under the teacher's desk. She left us in the room and stood outside.

Being sent out of the classroom a couple of times. Both times for talking too much. I had great fun standing in the corridor talking to passersby. It wasn't that hard a punishment to be honest.

True.
My dad's friend who grew up in Ireland in the 30's walked to school in bare feet one winter because they had no money for shoes, when he arrived late the Jesuit fathers caned his freezing feet.

I, aged 10, was put across a teacher's knee and my bottom spanked in front of the class.
In secondary the French teacher slapped my head for getting a sentence wrong.

Not really a punishment but my Y6 teacher (at a catholic primary) would get so enraged sometimes she would throw chalk and blackboard erasers, or push the wooden desks into pupils. This was 1994. She had anger issues 🫠