The best tip he’d been given was to be really very stern and business-like with them, but he wasn’t sure he could rise to the demands of this new challenge, and he nervously twisted the rattan cane in his fingertips.
John Meredith was a teacher 10 years into the profession and now facing a sort of regression. Corporal punishment had been abolished in English state schools a decade before he was born, but now it was being reintroduced in secret trial areas at private mixed schools. His employer had volunteered to be part of the programme to gauge whether it might be effective and then been selected due to the willingness of senior staff to engage with the process.
Visits to High Schools in Texas and Mississippi had been organised to assess the efficacy of their disciplinary methods, and lots of proposals had been studied. After much deliberation they chose to administer the cane to the offender’s bottom instead of the paddle, but would adopt the American practice of giving both the parents and the miscreant the choice between corporal punishment or other penalties such as detention and Saturday morning work detail. A same sex witness was required and the punishment had to be recorded.
It was all agreed and approved in principle, but there was a flaw in the plan. No-one had considered how you actually did it, and no-one with experience was still teaching. Through its extensive network, the school was at the last minute able to contact a former employee, now in his 70s, who had both an old school cane and some practice in using it.
One Saturday morning then, a rather reluctant John Meredith found himself in the pensioner’s lounge practising his swing against a cushion strategically placed on a chair.
The absurdity of the situation caused him some consternation and he lost concentration. He couldn’t quite comprehend what he was being asked to do. His lack of application didn’t go down well with his older compatriot. This was a serious issue and this young man need to apply himself.
“It’s the atmosphere which is really important,” the pensioner chided. “You have to create an air of gravitas and trepidation so they know they are in deep trouble. Command, don’t negotiate. And don’t say anything sympathetic until it’s all over. You have to be really stern with them. Get it?”
“I suppose so,” replied John Meredith with no great conviction.
“Yes it’s true that you have to make it sting so they fear a repeat dose, but it’s the whole ceremony which produces the air of dread and therefore a deterrent. The aim is to encourage better behaviour, either by positive affirmations or, in this case, with a painful punishment. The classic carrot and the stick.”
It sort of made sense but the teacher was still anxious and not entirely convinced this was the way forward, especially as his first offender was a senior girl on the cusp of leaving. His palms were sweaty and his breathing was a bit ragged.
The best tip she’d been given was to look doe-eyed and innocent, but she wasn’t sure she could go through with this new option and fretted on one of the seats outside the house master’s study, nervously twisting the corners of the officious discipline report in her fingertips.
Emily Marchant was in her last year at school but now facing a new and somewhat scary prospect which seemed so ridiculously old-fashioned. Corporal punishment had been abolished in private schools about 10 years before she was born, but her parents had volunteered to embrace a trial to see if it would be an effective way to discipline girls like her. She simply misbehaved one too many times and was reported to the headmaster.
A visit to his office had been an uncomfortable affair and various options had been discussed. The new regime was explained and for the offences of skipping school and being rude to the teacher who challenged her, there was a lengthy deliberation. Instead of three Saturdays doing chores at the school she reluctantly decided to take a risk and accept six strokes of the cane as an alternative, which would be administered on her bottom over her skirt. There would be a female witness and her punishment would be recorded in a book.
Although she’d agreed all this, there was a flaw in the plan. She hadn’t considered how much it would actually hurt and none of her contemporaries had any experience. At the last minute she managed to approach her grandparents, now in their 70s, two of whom had received a spanking as youngsters.
One Saturday morning a rather reluctant Emily Marchant found herself in a pensioner’s lounge taking some advice from her grandmother who said she’d never had the cane but had endured what she called a ‘slippering’ by a gym mistress, but confided that it would most likely be a similar experience.
The absurdity of the situation caused her some consternation and she lost concentration. She couldn’t quite comprehend what she was being required to do. Her lack of attention didn’t go down well with her older relative. This was a serious issue and this young woman needed to engage with what would be an uncomfortable experience.
“I suggest you listen very carefully young lady,” granny chided. “You will soon know you are in deep trouble when they take that cane out of the cupboard. Do as you’re told, be polite, respectful and compliant. And don’t for heaven’s sake say anything inappropriate. ‘Sorry’ would be a good start. Are you hearing me Emily?”
“I suppose so,” said Emily, pouting, and with no great conviction.
“He will no doubt make it sting so you fear a repeat dose. It’s an air of dread they want to create so you are encouraged to better behaviour. Carrots were on offer but you’ve ended up with the stick because of your own behaviour.”
It sort of made sense but she was still anxious and not entirely convinced that this was the way forward, especially as she was a senior girl on the cusp of leaving. Her palms were sweaty and her breathing was a bit ragged.
Suddenly the heavy oak door of the house master’s study swung open. She gazed at him with doe eyes which appealed for clemency.
He cleared his throat, nodded at Mrs Bryant the witness, and then pointed to the back of a chair set up in the middle of the room.
“Bend over the chair and put your hands on the seat,” he commanded with all the authority he could muster and despite his nerves. “Six strokes of the cane for skipping school and being rude to a teacher!”
She did directly as she was told and moments later felt the cane tapping across her bottom.
Were they doing the right thing?
He gulped.
She gulped.
Outside, the next waiting offender heard a whoosh, a slap and a squeal. A new era had dawned.
The End
© Davis Marks 2025