School Yard Antics

When people today complain about the school system, it takes me back to my own school days. I will tell you about a somewhat traumatic event that took place then. Before I recount this experience I will give you some background.

Grade school was a local Catholic one in Ireland. It was built in 1931. My father who would be 94 years old if he were alive today attended it before me. I myself am now almost 68 years old. Kids are still attending it, which gives you an idea of the continuity of generations going to this magnificent sturdy building. I saw it again last year and it is still a beautiful place. We did not have a gym to hold events but we did have a system which I feel now would greatly benefit modern schools. Each classroom  had a beautiful thick wooden, folding partition wall. As it is a long rectangular school style, we would open several partitions for events depending on room size needed. Bathroom facilities were outdoors. Two great big long rectangular sheds where we kept  our bicycles, footballs, nets and rackets were attached to the toilets. There was one for girls and one for boys. As was common boys and girls went to separate schools. The exceptions were grades called Junior Babies and High Babies for 4 and 5 year olds respectively.

Of course today the school has been upgraded and there is indoor plumbing among, I am sure, many other upgrades I am not aware of. We had a mixture of lay teachers and teaching nuns. Life was good except when we got the cane on our hand for bad writing or unfinished homework. It was the era of corporal punishment around the world. How we have progressed! Kids now are free thinking unafraid little people. Occasionally, when we complained about punishment to our parents, we were told that we probably deserved it. By the 1960's onwards some cracks in this thinking began to appear, People were beginning to question figures of authority. My father was one of these.

My 5 year old brother Thomas was playing in the school yard after the noon recess bell had rung three times. We always got a warning first with one bell. At the third one we all had to be perfectly lined up by class. One of the nuns lifted up the strap she always had tied around her waist and let him have it across the back of his legs. Without hesitation Thomas turned and belted her as hard as he could across the back of her legs with his school satchel. For some unexplained reason older siblings were expected to be their younger ones keepers. Thomas was brought into my classroom. I was called up to the front of the class to hear his teacher proclaim his crime in a loud and stringent voice. My whole class were witnesses to this. "You tell your parents about your brother's vicious behaviour as soon as you get home today. Tell them that I want to see at least one of them up here tomorrow." This was her version of today's urgent email.

Surprisingly my parents were not angry at either myself or my brother when I told them what happened. They listened to what my brother had to say and did not say a word. I heard later about my fathers discussion with the nun. "Why did you strap my son" asked my father. "He would not get in line when the bell rang" said the nun indignantly. "He actually hit me very hard with his school bag just like  a delinquent". "I don't blame him" said my father "you strapped him very hard first. What did you expect him to do? Do not ever strap my children again". We never did get strapped again by this particular nun. Life got even nicer for us.

The school system today is not the cruel one of old. We do however need to complain about any part of it that we feel needs improving. Whether it is lack of proper classroom size, too little or too much homework or not enough student appreciation we need to keep changing and improving. This is how we progress. Improvement is a never ending process.