School days and sadistic staff...

[Butch]

Following on from the "recent passings" thread tangent, I'm sure many of us are kids of the 60's / 70's during which we would have attended primary or secondary school.

It seemed that Schools were the "go-to" venues for each and every kind of sadistic character that didn't fit into regular society.

A few of my teachers were former members of the Armed forces who served in WW2, the Technical Drawing Teacher was a former Bomber Crew, a stickler for accuracy (to the displeasure of several Germans, no doubt ) his favourite method of "discipline" was a ruler ,straight edged across the knuckles. He had a lovely Rover 3500 which was always fastidiously clean, until the end of term when someone put breadcrumbs all over it...

Sports / PE Teachers were also notoriously sadistic and stupid as well, given the fact they taught sports which isn't really much of a subject. This left them plenty of time to devise methods of humiliation of pupils who went out of line. Making boys wear girls skirts from lost property if they forgot their kit was a fun one (one size fits all).

We had an alcoholic English teacher who again, was a former nfantry in WW2 "a pongo" - who delighted in pulling pupils almost off the ground by their ear.

Nit Nurses (already discussed).

"Matron" in the sick bay who spent most of the day smoking Pall Mall cigarettes and wiping open wounds with Witch Hazel.

"The Head" - A person to whom "headmaster" had a totally different meaning to what you might think it is. He got retrospectively investigated an sentenced to prison in absentia, but died before getting caught.

Maths teachers who thought that if you couldn't understand and grasp parametric equations at the age of 11, then you are clearly retarded and worthless as a human being, so effectively "backsquadded" you to the year below, or instead the remedial unit, affectionately known to everyone as "the spastics".

Female physics teacher with the worst body odour I've smelled, and trust me I've smelled some pretty fucking awful body odour in my time.

Punishments included but not limited to:

Rulers, Caning, slippers, board rubbers thrown at velocity, physical abuse, humiliation, running around the track in a skirt at dinnertime in summer when all the kids are on the field eating their lunches, chalk thrown at you, pens thrown at you and generally allowing sadistic misfits to live out their fantasies of hurting children.

In the UK at least, the nicest people in the school were by far the Dinner Ladies, probably due to the fact they were the mums of many of the kids.

 

[Lantern]

We had a nasty PE teacher that went by the name of "Haggis" who, at the end of every lesson, would make the whole class of 32 boys run naked around the shower room whilst he did his best to spray your arsehole with a very high pressure hose pipe. That thing stung.

[forcebwithu]

How prevalent were these bad/sadistic teachers in the schools you attended? And how prevalent are they in this day and age?

My experience with the schools, both as a student and later as the parent of two kids, was quite different.

Can only remember one incident of a teacher who lacked teaching skills. It was one of my son's teachers who I read the riot act to in a parent/teacher conference. Told him if he didn't get his shit together our next conversation would be in the principal's office.

Apparently I wasn't alone in that assessment as I could tell he was on the receiving end of another intense diatribe from the parents who met with him before me.

Sad thing is there wasn't much the principal could have done due to the protection of the Teachers' Union, even for teachers who lacked the skills to teach.

[maipenrai]

We had the occasional bad apple for teachers when I was young, I can recall hearing that one Grade 1 teacher had been let go for throwing a  book at a student and injuring him or her; but the worst problem I had with my high school  teachers was drunkenness - my first Grade 11 math teacher would show up in the morning looking much the worse for wear, scribble an assignment on the blackboard and then disappear to the washroom for a while and come back looking somewhat more presentable; and the second Grade 11 math teacher (yes, I flunked the first year) was a Swiss-educated African black man who was brilliant but a total piss tank - he played jazz piano so well that every bar in town was after him to entertain, and he got busted for impaired driving with a .32 reading. I think the only reason I passed the second year was that I found this man's mannerisms so amusing that I paid attention in class for a change. Mind you, our town in those days was very much a frontier town and our many bars were doing a roaring business - lots of people were out every night back in those days and nobody really cared much about it. 

[andyajn]

14 hours ago, Butch said:

Following on from the "recent passings" thread tangent, I'm sure many of us are kids of the 60's / 70's during which we would have attended primary or secondary school.

It seemed that Schools were the "go-to" venues for each and every kind of sadistic character that didn't fit into regular society.

A few of my teachers were former members of the Armed forces who served in WW2, the Technical Drawing Teacher was a former Bomber Crew, a stickler for accuracy (to the displeasure of several Germans, no doubt ) his favourite method of "discipline" was a ruler ,straight edged across the knuckles. He had a lovely Rover 3500 which was always fastidiously clean, until the end of term when someone put breadcrumbs all over it...

Sports / PE Teachers were also notoriously sadistic and stupid as well, given the fact they taught sports which isn't really much of a subject. This left them plenty of time to devise methods of humiliation of pupils who went out of line. Making boys wear girls skirts from lost property if they forgot their kit was a fun one (one size fits all).

We had an alcoholic English teacher who again, was a former nfantry in WW2 "a pongo" - who delighted in pulling pupils almost off the ground by their ear.

Nit Nurses (already discussed).

"Matron" in the sick bay who spent most of the day smoking Pall Mall cigarettes and wiping open wounds with Witch Hazel.

"The Head" - A person to whom "headmaster" had a totally different meaning to what you might think it is. He got retrospectively investigated an sentenced to prison in absentia, but died before getting caught.

Maths teachers who thought that if you couldn't understand and grasp parametric equations at the age of 11, then you are clearly retarded and worthless as a human being, so effectively "backsquadded" you to the year below, or instead the remedial unit, affectionately known to everyone as "the spastics".

Female physics teacher with the worst body odour I've smelled, and trust me I've smelled some pretty fucking awful body odour in my time.

Punishments included but not limited to:

Rulers, Caning, slippers, board rubbers thrown at velocity, physical abuse, humiliation, running around the track in a skirt at dinnertime in summer when all the kids are on the field eating their lunches, chalk thrown at you, pens thrown at you and generally allowing sadistic misfits to live out their fantasies of hurting children.

In the UK at least, the nicest people in the school were by far the Dinner Ladies, probably due to the fact they were the mums of many of the kids.

 

I think you went to the same school as me!!

[Glasseye]

 

No wonder why you guys are so F'd up.

[richy65]

We had a TD teacher who used to draw a target in chalk on the underside of a plimsoll he used to spank any of the boys with so it left the imprint on the ass of your trousers! He called the plimsoll 'Ethel' and made anyone he had just spanked say 'Thank you Ethel'

[richy65]

Our deputy headmaster was the most terrifying man I've ever met. He was ex military and about 7 feet tall! He used to patrol the corridors looking out for any victims commiting crimes such as not wearing a blazer or having a wonky tie etc so he could give them a whack round the head!

[Aqualung]

Brilliant topic Butch. I'll post my thoughts  and experiences later as I attended junior and high school from 1968 up until 1980.

For every sadistic teacher though there were many good ones too. 

A blackboard cleaner approaching my face at 80 mph didn't do me any harm tbh. I feckin hated tech drawing. 

[Toy Boy]

On 1/12/2024 at 3:06 AM, Butch said:

A few of my teachers were former members of the Armed forces who served in WW2

The senior French teacher in the grammar school I went to (preceded by my older brother and father, so there was no moaning allowed about what a dreadful place it was) was an ex-commando, Dewi Davies. He'd been captured by the Nazis, interrogated, tortured and then stuck in a concentration camp for the duration. This probably damaged him mentally as he was unbelievably violent with the kids he didn't like. I once saw him beat up two of my friends who'd whispered his nickname, Snitch (due to his Hitleresque moustache), as he passed by. They ended up two piles of blood and bruises on the floor. Another time, in his class, a boy was talking so he lifted him up by his hair and smashed his head down on the desk top so hard that it actually split the wood. Lots more blood. And in spite of parents' complaints to the LEA, nothing was done about him, though it was clear he should never have been allowed anywhere near a bunch of teenage kids. I got the impression that a few of the teachers were very uneasy about him, but were too afraid to say or do anything. The headmaster and school admin evidently didn't give a monkeys.

[forcebwithu]

13 minutes ago, Toy Boy said:

The senior French teacher in the grammar school I went to (preceded by my older brother and father, so there was no moaning allowed about what a dreadful place it was) was an ex-commando, Dewi Davies. He'd been captured by the Nazis, interrogated, tortured and then stuck in a concentration camp for the duration. This probably damaged him mentally as he was unbelievably violent with the kids he didn't like. I once saw him beat up two of my friends who'd whispered his nickname, Snitch (due to his Hitleresque moustache), as he passed by. They ended up two piles of blood and bruises on the floor. Another time, in his class, a boy was talking so he lifted him up by his hair and smashed his head down on the desk top so hard that it actually split the wood. Lots more blood. And in spite of parents' complaints to the LEA, nothing was done about him, though it was clear he should never have been allowed anywhere near a bunch of teenage kids. I got the impression that a few of the teachers were very uneasy about him, but were too afraid to say or do anything. The headmaster and school admin evidently didn't give a monkeys.

Sounds like that teacher would have benefited from a training session via street justice.

A less violent response to that type of teacher would be organizing the students in his class to enmass refuse to enter his classroom. That would surely get the attention of the headmaster, and school board.

[Zambo]

46 minutes ago, forcebwithu said:

Sounds like that teacher would have benefited from a training session via street justice.

A less violent response to that type of teacher would be organizing the students in his class to enmass refuse to enter his classroom. That would surely get the attention of the headmaster, and school board.

I think the balance of power has moved from the teachers to the students and i'm not sure that it is an improvement. Certainly not i guess for the mental health of the teachers.

[tommy dee]

the dep head was our worst, also he was the sport and physics/checm teacher.  a total wanker.  took pleasure in treating boys badly and was a snide little fucker, ex pupil of the school so failed everywhere and came back.  sadly after the HM reitred this bloke took over the school.  by then i was long gone.  he ran it into the ground.

ALSO  I was set to fail maths and phys chem thanks to him.  My dad was smart, took me out, put me in a crammer school, 6 hrs a week, in a week or so I was rocking with the best and passed with good grades.  that "man" is despised by numerous ex boys who to this day wish to read his obit with glee

[Toy Boy]

3 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Sounds like that teacher would have benefited from a training session via street justice.

A less violent response to that type of teacher would be organizing the students in his class to enmass refuse to enter his classroom. That would surely get the attention of the headmaster, and school board.

It simply didn't work that way back in those days, at least not in the poorer parts of the country like industrial South Wales. If the police and local education authority weren't interested, then you'd be opening yourself up to a whole world of pain by trying to make an issue of matters.

[Glasseye]

My mom was an elementary school teacher for about twenty five years. I can remember talking with her some evenings while she was grading papers, sitting on the couch in our living room.

 

-----------------------------

Years after she retired Mom and I made a stop in a grocery store near her home. I was visiting.

As we were walking down an aisle. A younger woman with a big smile  approached Mom and excitedly called her name. Mom looked at the woman, it was obvious to me that she did not recognize the younger lady.

The woman then went on to explain that she had been a pupil of hers and mentioned her name. The lightswitch came on, Mom remembered her by name, as she was a kid that had grown into an adult. The woman had tears in her eyes, tears of happiness. The exchange was brief, the woman made a point to thank Mom for the positive impact Mom had made in her life. I said nothing but soaked it all in. It was powerful.

A memory I will never forget.

[Nightcrawler]

I was a bit reluctant to post my words schooldays experiences as I didn't want to drag up the memories in my mind, but perhaps it will be therapeutic 

I went to a fairly posh, all boys Gramnar schoo in the early sixties. It wax not my choice but that of my parents once I passed the 11 Plus exam. 

The teachers were known as "Masters" and wore black gowns. 

The vast percentage of them were both sadists and homosexuals. 

The Headmaster,Spike Jones was one of the biggest c*nts that I ever encountered in my early life, and heconce severely caned me, just for a few missing entries in my homework diary and for forging my mother's signature . Bastard 

But one of my very worst experiences was when a group of us were taken on a 2 day geography field trip in Kent, lead by Mr Jackson, that nastiest Master in the school and an ex mitary man. 

We stayed at some kind of hostel and at some point during the day some of the other boys had been caught shoplifting in a local shop which was reported to Hier Jackson.

That evening, after we had changed into.out pyjamas getting ready for bed, he call us up on pairs to his room.for questioning and ultimate physical discipline with a slipper  

When I entered the room with another boy, you could see the look of enjoyment on Jackson's face, which was flushed. I will never forget that look 

No one ever grassed another pupil and whilst I knew who the culprits were,I was not going to tell.

Neither of either admitted to it or named those responsible whilst under his SS style interrogation. 

He then got the other boy to pull down his pyjama bottoms to give him a slippering. Jackson was wearing a dressing gown which was open at the front and pyjamas. As he began administering punishment his cock pocked our of the front his pyjamas with an errection. 

I froze to think what was coming next. Then it was my turn and got walked six times across my bare buttocks with a plastic soled slipper. 

Thankfully both of us escaped possible buggery 

In those days, you couldn't report this sort of thing or try to explain it to parents, so this kind of abuse was fairly common, especially in these types of school

I have a sneeky feeling that BM Butch may attempt to correct my punctuation 😁😁😁😁

[Butch]

^^^^

No mate, despite me salivating at the chance of rejigging that post, it is actually very serious and I understand how hard it must be to revisit that emotional trauma.

Some teachers in my day were "eccentric", but some were serial abusers, physical and sexual. Two of them got done for buggering / sexually abusing kids. One was a sports teacher who did it under the premise of offering the lads a "sports massage" for pulled muscles. He simply exploited his position, even going as far to tell the parents that their son had pulled a hamstring and to put ice on it. He had an air of legitimacy.

What is more concerning is what actually went unreported back then, and it is probably the case still today.

It is also the lasting effects that the abuse had on the kids.

When me and my mate left school, we were both in the Army Careers office, he ended up joining the Paras and had a decent career, touring NI and doing plenty of other stuff, but he ended up in a right mess after leaving the Army, drugs, drink, knocking his wife about and generally going from a disciplined man into a wreck, as he no longer had structure in his life and haunted by the memories of what was done to him.

We'd often speak, and he would always say how he would one day go back to the school and slot Mr X, and despite pleas for him to sort himself out, the shame of what happened was greater than carrying the burden of guilt. He felt it was his fault he got abused.

My mate ended up emigrating to Oz, from what I know he's still there and has a family. He cut off all ties from day 1, myself included. Guess it was his way of starting anew, and I'm not going to do anything to stop his healing process.

 

[coxyhog]

I was in a secondary modern(how demeaning that title was),later changed to comprehensive which is now a housing estate.Probably the best thing that could've happened to it.

It was not unusual to have to go to the front of the class to get a slipper applied to your backside & occasionally a blackboard eraser would fly across the room in your direction.A referral to the headmasters office would mean six strokes of the cane to your arse.

My mum still has a letter from the school threatening me with expulsion,something to do with a telephoned bomb threat but my memory is a bit vague on that one.Somehow I got the blame for all involved.

I remember breaking my thumb playing British bulldog in the gym & all the PE teacher did was take the piss out of me.

Best thing I did was leave school & join the RAF,I was a wimp until then & while I'm still a wimp I made a career out of it😂.

[forcebwithu]

Just did some searching on the prevalence of corporal punishment in the US and the world. I surprised to see it is still used in some states in the US. Also I can now see I was fortunate to have grown up in Minnesota and WIsconsin where corporal punishment in public schools was unheard of. I do remember some friends that went to Catholic schools talk about getting rapped on the knuckles with a ruler by the nuns, but that never happened in the public schools I attended.

As a parent I abhor the thought of someone other than a parent striking a child. I also have a strong belief that even as a parent anything more than one swat on a clothed buttock is the anger of the parent coming out rather than a disciplinary action.

Stats for the US as of 2016

https://endhitting.org/paddling-in-public-schools/

Stats for the world as of 2011

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-prohibition-of-corporal-punishment-in-schools-as-of-June-2011_fig3_279803177

[tommy dee]

this is one of the reasons I taught my kids, and grand children to take no punishment form others.  my memories of school are not good and I still have them, but block them.  5 horrible years .  what made it worse was that I was the nly local Kid in our school so when I got off the bus it was a run to escpe the local gang of wannabee hoods.  i had nearly forgotten that until now

[Glasseye]

2 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Just did some searching on the prevalence of corporal punishment in the US and the world. I surprised to see it is still used in some states in the US. Also I can now see I was fortunate to have grown up in Minnesota and WIsconsin where corporal punishment in public schools was unheard of. I do remember some friends that went to Catholic schools talk about getting rapped on the knuckles with a ruler by the nuns, but that never happened in the public schools I attended.

As a parent I abhor the thought of someone other than a parent striking a child. I also have a strong belief that even as a parent anything more than one swat on a clothed buttock is the anger of the parent coming out rather than a disciplinary action.

Stats for the US as of 2016

https://endhitting.org/paddling-in-public-schools/

Stats for the world as of 2011

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-prohibition-of-corporal-punishment-in-schools-as-of-June-2011_fig3_279803177

 

Fcuking knotheads.

Honestly... I think the biggest reason I never had kids was because I knew myself and recognized that the probability of ending up divorced was very high (in my thinking it was close to 90 % likely). 

If some other bloke came along and got involved with my ex I could live with that. But if he touched my kid I would not be able to restrain myself. The idea of prison does not appeal to me. 

Edited January 16 by Glasseye