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Thursday 10 July 2014

School corporal punishment of our time


School corporal punishment of my time

Well, besides hard hitting with stick or wooden ruler (Regr or régua ), hard pinching 'Chimtte'

was very common, some teachers were notorious for this. I still remember one Lucy Teacher (RIP 29.3.16) who pinched us till the skin peels off usually on the arm or on the ear.

This song made made to go back to my past
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rdf5QcXJWE

Beating Ruler or Wooden Regr
Not only hitting on its flat side but also vertically. Usually, on our hand Palm but sometime on the wrist and also on the leg.

 


Beating Sticks:
Most common stick was ‘lingttea boddi’ of ‘Lingtto’ plant.(see what’s lingtto pic)

‘Peri boddi’ Guava stick, ‘Kavllea-dolle’ (plant) sticks were also used  (see pic)


‘Panddam eisor martale’ till the body bore swollen torture marks

Our headmaster had his own tailor-made stick, striped colour painted and he proudly call it
‘Kerala stick’ for he was a Keralite (Kerala, a state of India).

I must confess, I did get a lot of beating from the headmaster for coming late to school say by 5 minutes or so. He used to be at the school compound gate with his Kerala stick.

I got two hard strikes, one each on my palm.

So, why I was late habitually?

Well, I never missed Wednesdays ‘Perpet Socor’ novenas at the church, besides I was a regular church goer be it on Sunday or Monday. Not all the times masses got over on time.

But our Head Master didn’t want to know such excuses ‘I got beatings because I am late like everybody else’. I was at high school then (e.g. Std VIII/IX)

I could easily label him as ‘racist’ for he was a Muslim but no,  I knew he was doing his duty (to discipline us).  Some Teachers also referred students to Head Master for his public beatings.
 
Our Church 'Pad Vigar' (Parish Priest) beat us on our heads 'tokule' not by his fist bones but striking with the Church door key (Heavy metal 'Chavi' weighing about half a kilogram). Each stike means we got one 'gundd' on our head. This was at the time we attended 'dotorn' or Catechetical classes
 
Oh my god!  I get goosebumps to narrate this.. (Lonv ubi zata..)

As a punishment, we were made to form a human chair ‘Kodel’ where one is made to come out and bend or lower himself in a chair position throughout the 30-40 minute period often right infront of the whole class.
It’s like sitting on a chair except there is no chair

Kneeling down was common too but have you ever heard of kneeling down on stones?

How about kneeling down on ‘nachonne’ Ragi /Nachini / Millets (see pic)?

I witnessed all these during my school time (Primary Section).
 
Once I asked my mother (a school drop-out)
Tuvem iskol kiteak soddlem ghe 'Why did you leave school?'
She replied: Eka disa Mestrin maka borench marlem ani te meren haven iskoluch naka munttlem
' On day our Teacher (Master) beat me severely and I decided never to go to school again).
My mother learnt to sign her name not at school but at home 16 years after her marriage and that too from her own children.
 
Corporal punishment practice was going on even in 80s and beyond, I think it is banned around 2000
 
Watch this video: Which inspired me to go back to my past
Taking advantage of the situation, a school boy lying to his parents saying teacher beat him..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rdf5QcXJWE

Note: Average age of Primary section at our time was say 10-14 (Std I-IV)  and passing of SSC or Metric was 20.5 (which is now I think 15.5). I passed at 19 but I was a repeater in STD III.
Those day school joining age was around 8, again, there was KG1, KG2 KG3 before join Std I.
Now kids join school at 4

Some related pics

Lingtto
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk1/2612470451/

Kavllea Dolle
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk40/5793836701/

Nachonne / Gondde/millets
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk73/10605793546/
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