I Got The Slipper At School

@MartinII The vast majority of school rules have no practical purpose or justification, they're made simply for the sake of making rules. This was one of them.

@Sharon I thought so. And not only schools, though they are certainly the worst at it. I often wince when I hear a child ask “why can’t I do so-and-so” and a parent replies “because I say so”.

@Sharon the slipper was an occupational hazard that most of us bore with either stoicism or indifference

@jackcros It was even seen as a bit of a joke in some cases. My class kept a "slipper chart" where we recorded our slipperings. :)

@Sharon no doubt those whose ratings were lagging took steps to rectify the situation 😉

@jackcros Yes, some of us did. There was also something of a competition to get the first slippering of the week.

@Sharon i have a mental image of a queue forming at 8:55 on Monday morning 😁

@jackcros LOL! It wasn't quite like that. We just misbehaved more until someone got slippered. That also had the effect of deceiving teachers into thinking it worked as a disciplinary tool. ;)

@Sharon The bulk of slipperings in my school were an alternative to detention. Teachers often gave a choice between an hour in detention or 3 whacks. Most girls chose the slipper and it saved a teacher having to supervise the detention class so that they could leave on time as well!

@Rebecca54 Most teachers just gave us the slipper. We sometimes got a choice of detention of the slipper, more so in 6th form, but I can't remember anyone opting for detention.

@Sharon I think I only got the slipper twice in the 6th form. We got it in private often following a private tutorial when they reviewed our assignments. Mine were "gentle reminders" to get my work completed in time. I am glad it was in private as it was embarrassing to have to bend over to have your bottom whacked at 17/18.

@Rebecca54 We got it in front of the class, just the same as in earlier years.

Same at my school - and there was nothing token or 'reminder' about them. they HURT!@Sharon

@NataliaT In years 1 - 5 most slipperings were just 2 or 3 not particularly hard whacks. In 6th form, although the slipper was used a lot less often, it was almost always 6 real stingers.

@Sharon That is so similar to my school experience. Up to 6th form, most class slipperings were quite tolerable. there were a few doozies I recollect, but mostly they were more like a warning shot across the bows. But in the 6th, they became real punishments. As you say, invariably six whacks or more, and with ruddy great plimsolls that must have been for giants. I can remember 6th form boys reduced to tears.

@NataliaT I don't recall seeing many tears but our bottoms felt like they were on fire after 6th form slippering. If we were wearing skirts they were lifted so we only had our knickers for protection

@Sharon We never had the option of trousers, even in sixth form, so it was always with skirts lifted. Even when we were in our light summer uniform, they invariable lifted the skirt for the slipper. Most unfair. Those 6th form slipperings weren't as bad as been sent for the cane, but they were extremely painful all the same.

@NataliaT We only had the option of trousers in 6th form. The cane followed the same pattern as the slipper. In years 1 - 5 most canings were 2 - 4 strokes, albeit quite hard. In 6th form, although not used as often, "6 Of The Best" was just about standard.

We obviously didn't go to the same school, but the approach to punishments seems pretty identical between our two schools. Certainly in sixth form, if you were awarded a caning, you leant EXACTLY what "six of the best" REALLY meant! In lower school, six stokes were sometimes given, and hard, but not excruciating! But most canings were 2 or 4 strokes only. Was yours a mixed school? Mine was.

@NataliaT Yes, both my primary and secondary schools were mixed sex. Six stokes of the cane were given in lower years, mostly for smoking. There seemed to always be a queue of 4th, 5th, and 6th formers waiting to be caned for smoking.

I suppose it is not all that remarkable that two secondary schools in the Uk had similar punishment policies, but the similarities are remarkable. It was exactly the same with smoking - didn't matter what year you were in, it was six strokes of the cane if you were caught smoking, or even with cigarettes about your person! And it was a line up - usually at afternoon break - with several boys and girls all vowing they would never smoke again. Until the next time. In my case, getting the cane for smoking made me so upset and hyped up that on the way home from school I would definitely need another smoke to calm me down. LOL. So much for deterrence

@NataliaT It seems 6 with the cane for smoking was common to most UK schools although some schools let girls off. Smokers were usually caught, therefore caned, in small groups. On a few occasion there was a big round up of smokers (or a crackdown on some common misbehaviour) and there could be 20 - 30 to be caned. In those cases, the canings were done in the hall or a spare classroom.

What you say is so true. I think because smoking was such an obvious and total breach of school rules, it was an easy and unambiguous reason to administer something of an exemplary punishment. And awarding an automatic 6 strokes of the cane meant there was no grey area for debate! Maybe at some schools, girls got it easier than boys, but at my school they believed in female equality LOL, we got identical punishments to the boys.

I don't recall any smoking round-ups of the scale you mention - that must be a salutary experience - but definitely there were smoker groups - and when caught in a group like that, we were caned together - like in front of each other. It gives one a bit of extra courage, getting caned in front of your schoolmates, but the downside is the embarrassment.

@NataliaT My school believed in sex equality too. My friends and I were often spanked together at home so there wasn't really any embarrassment involved. I preferred it that way because of the mutual support.

On balance, I agree - there was a strong sense of mutual support and greater fortitude when you were in a group being caned in front of each other. Quite amazing how even a cry-baby like myself could take six in those circumstances with little more than a gasp at each stroke!

It must have helped to come from an environment where domestic discipline was so mutual. Even at home, and with brothers, the majority of our punishments were inflicted in private, so getting it in front of boys at school (and our skirts were always lifted) was still quite embarrassing for me