Methods of "discipline" in infant school, in 1980s

[letsgomaths]

Although I mostly have fond memories of infant school, I remember very vividly methods which were used for keeping order among children in the 1980's, and I'm curious about how much they're used these days (I don't have any DC's of infant school age). There was no corporal punishment at any schools I went to, although it was frequently mentioned ("If I had my way with all these naughty children..."), sometimes with wistful overtones.

Things I remember most:
Humiliation was a common tool; there was a lot of telling off in front of the class, or even the whole school, usually for minor offences such as talking or fidgeting. Some naughty children were made to stand on tables. (However, more serious things like bullying/lying/stealing were dealt with more privately.)

Woe betide any child who moved their feet at all after the bell was rung for the end of playtime, especially if one particular teacher was on playground duty. Any offender would have to make a walk of shame across the playground, and then "miss their next play" (which would involve sitting in an area where everyone would see you).

With some teachers, one of the most heinous crimes children could commit was doing something without being told. I fell foul of this a few times, if I started packing away when I knew it would be time to do so ("Did I say pack away?!?!"). And here was one particular scene, but I wasn't among the guilty this time: during a handwriting lesson, the teacher (fearsome deputy head) wrote "kitten" on the board, and more than half the class wrote it in their exercise books. The teacher then walked round the classroom, picking up people's books and throwing them on the floor. These people were then ordered to fetch their books and hold them up in front of everyone else; these children had dared to write "kitten" when they hadn't actually been told to.

I daresay methods like these were effective in a way; usually the teachers had no difficulty keeping a hundred children quiet, and for all I know teachers of today wish they could do the same things. But I'm sure that teaching children that it's a bad thing to take action without being told had a few unintended consequences!

Discuss. (You have my permission! )

I remember the same child having his mouth washed out with soap and water for swearing. We had the odd child stood in the corner with their nose on the wall a few times and shoes taken off children who kicked.
I remember the shouting, my head and deputy could shout better than any person I've ever known! Also I had my hair pulled by a teacher for not doing something during the course of a lesson.

I remember a little girl in Y1/2 (mixed classes, can't remember if she was in my year or the other) being smacked on the plaster cast of her broken wrist because she kept taking it out of the sling.

But otherwise my school was quite modern about discipline I think. I remember being sent to sit at the naughty table for putting Moira's pencil on the floor

I remember having to stand against the wall at playtime if we didn't eat our lunch. Also being sent to stand outside the classroom for minor misdemeanors (too much chatting).

I got a ruler on the back of my hand a few times too.

We used to be given 'the pump' which was a thwack with a gym shoe across the back of the legs.

One of my primary heads (we moved house a lot when I was youbg) had a cane in his office and used to use it.

Brutal really.

I was always terrified of getting into trouble at primary school age so I can't really remember what the consequences were. I know you could get sent to the headteacher if you were really bad, though. This was the 90s so no caning/hitting at all.

I think they used more positive reinforcement by that time, at least in my school. We got stickers and if you did extra good work you could go to the headteacher to get a load of praise and a special, sparkly sticker!

At my second school they had a yellow card/red card system. I remember my friend getting a yellow card because the teacher told her and another girl to "stop being bitchy" and she was upset and said the teacher had called her a bitch!

Standing on our chairs was a regular one when I was in Yr1 in 1978. Health and Safety would have conniptions nowadays.

When i was at primary (born 1981 so mid/late 80s) In my yr 1 class a boy who kept moving around at carpet time had a dog lead attached to his wrist at one end and the teacher's chair at another!

In my DD's bilingual French school, some of the French teachers still regularly humiliate pupils in an attempt to make them work harder , calling them "stupid", "slow", "dim" in front of classmates. French children seem to manage to live through this but non-French children are completely floored by this and it is utterly counterproductive.

I got the slipper a couple of times. My daughter tells me that children get sent to timeout for doing carious things, which appears to mean standing in a specified location for some length of time. I don't know how long. I guess it's the junior equivalent of the sin bin. I have no idea how punching and kicking is dealt with nowadays. (I've only got girls, so hopefully this won't be too much of an issue for me.) One of my best friend's daughters was punched in the face last year by a boy and had her lip split. She's a tremendous child, really lovely, and went through a period of begging not to be sent to school. It was heartbreaking. I was livid. I've wanted to find out how it was dealt with. But since the family is over it now I'm loath to bring the subject up. So I don't mention it.

Bonsoir, I'm not sure french children do manage to live through it, or at least not always:( My french primary schooling was pretty brutal - maybe not actual hitting, but certainly being lifted up by the ears, locked in cupboards etc, and public humiliation as standard discipline) and I can think of a number of classmates who were permanently harmed by that kind of learning environment.

I was at primary school in the late 70's / early 80's and remember kids being caned in assembly once. Other punishments were a ruler in class and children were caned in the headmasters office. They also washed mouths with soap for bad language.

libellule - I agree, I think that the French children don't crumble publicly when humiliated or brutalised by teachers (or HCPs, or whoever) but that plenty of long-term, less visible harm is done that is much harder to undo later.

If you didn't eat all of your lunch, the cow of a school secretary (training courtesy of the Stasi) would stand over you, bellowing at you until you ate it all.

Teachers would give you a whack on your hands with the 'belt' a leather strap. I was terrified so always behaved very very well. Our class teacher was also a cow.

Headmaster was nice. He used to give me a toffee if I held the door open for him.

I got thrown into the pool too! I couldn't swim (and the old cow of a PE teacher knew this) and got a lifeguard to throw me in.

Most my teachers were cows! But none so more than our drama teacher. She was pure evil. Her methods were menacing you with her walking stick and humiliation.

If we did any of these things now where I teach, we would probably be arrested!
I was at school in 70's/80's and I don't remember it being anywhere as bad as some of the things other posters have mentioned. I must have been lucky!

If a teacher did any of the above to DS I would be at the school pronto. Fu moly enough, my mum would give me hell if I was punished at school for anything!

This all sounds familiar!

I was at primary school from 1982-88.

I remember lots of people got the ruler over their hand.

There was lots of being made to go and stand in the corner for offences such as talking.

What I remember most was the humiliation. I was in primary 5 (Scotland, think that is English Year 4) and was asked the answer to one of the times tables by the teacher. I didn't know and so the teacher made me go and knock on the door of one of the younger classes, tell the teacher (in front of the younger class) that I didn't know the answer to (e.g. 7x7 can't remember now) and ask the younger kids to tell me! I still harbour feelings of hatred for that fucking teacher!

I am looking round schools at the moment as my DD starts reception next year, they seem much happier places now!

I was at school from 1980 and don't recall any of this.

We got
Made to stand in the corner
Smacked on the hand with a ruler
Tied to the chair with extension cable
Duct tape over the mouth (never happened but was threatened)
Whacked on the bum

This was in Ireland, by the oldest teacher in the school who was nearing retirement age, ca 1984/5

Standing with your nose to the blackboard
Writing out lines for homework
The odd thwap with a ruler in juniors, but nothing too traumatic
Getting a Bad, Forgetfulness or Untidiness Mark. If you got a forgetfulness for homework you had to stand up in monday assembly and get lectured, followed by any kid with a Bad Mark, which happened only once a month or so and was usually the same 3 big boys.

Tying fingers to a recorder or tying to a chair happened, but mostly it was writing lines.

I was good though, so only got one punishment essay to write, a couple whacks with a ruler, some telling off in my whole primary school, until the mad teacher in final year who kept throwing me out of class for not speaking French (I knew none, and we weren't in France!), and tearing up my homework as my parents never signed my homework book - they said it was pointless as I'd obviously done it.

I do remember a couple boys having mouths washed out with soap. We all tried the soap after and it wasn't that bad.

We didn't have anything like this at my primary school! For being naughty at playtime you had to go and face the wall. In lessons you were put outside in the corridor. If you continued to be naughty in the corridor you were sent to the deputy head. I have no idea where you were sent after that but feared it was Mordor.

I remember a classmate being tied to his chair.

French DP had his nose broken when a teacher hit it with a textbook when he didn't know the answer.