School items

[Accyexplorer]

I often wish the kids of today could experience what school was like back in the day.
It seems days back then were more carefree and well, a lot different from things today.
School was usually run by the headteacher who had a firm belief in discipline and the other teachers generally ran a tight ship thinking nothing of rapping the knuckles of kids that acted up,I had my ear pulled on a few occasions leaving it a lovely shade of red (probably why I don't reminisce about those days to much ) that being said if I had to change something about their educational techniques ,I can’t think of much that I would.

Anyway, on with the thread, I wanted to know what items folk remember from their school days whether it be the inkwells on desks,the cane or writing on slate

[westendlass]

I actually have good memories of school dinners! Proper meals like meat crumble and Manchester tart for afters or something we used to call cornflake pie (this was in the seventies and early eighties). Served on proper plates, not the plastic trays they seem to have today where all courses are plonked on together. Some of the dinner ladies could be a bit ferocious too! One fearsome little woman actually tried to make me eat the soggy sprouts that I left on my plate to the point where I was retching, it took me years to try another sprout after that! But, on the whole, I think the dinners we had then were much better and healthier than the stuff that gets served up today.

[Gremlin]

Cod liver oil, orange juice, half a pint of watered down milk. Camp beds set up in the hall for us little ones to get a bit of sleep after dinner.
The caretaker allowing me to stoke the boiler, pretending I was on a steam engine.
The joy of being picked to mix the ink powder and fill the ink wells, I felt really important.
Twins being sent home because their mother had just received a telegram saying their dad was killed in action.
Six foot snow drifts and the school stayed open with every kid attending. We all lived within half a mile, no parents parking outside to collect us at home time, we all walked.

[Accyexplorer]

Originally Posted by westendlass

I actually have good memories of school dinners! Proper meals like meat crumble and Manchester tart for afters or something we used to call cornflake pie (this was in the seventies and early eighties). Served on proper plates, not the plastic trays they seem to have today where all courses are plonked on together. Some of the dinner ladies could be a bit ferocious too! One fearsome little woman actually tried to make me eat the soggy sprouts that I left on my plate to the point where I was retching, it took me years to try another sprout after that! But, on the whole, I think the dinners we had then were much better and healthier than the stuff that gets served up today.

As far as I can remember school dinners were pretty much the same everywhere (chips),spam fritters swimming in oil or bubble and squeak which is basically just old vegetables mixed up, fried and served up.
One of the dinner ladies was a few sandwiches sort of a picnic and for some reason thought she worked with my aunt,she use to pile my chips up high so I never told her she was deluded.
I agree, the puddings were the best for me it was semolina pudding Mmmm.

[Turtle]

We had custard served in a shallow pink Bakelite bowl for afters - it must have been Birds Custard and was thin and steamy hot. I finished mine, then went back up to the serving ladies to ask (politely I thought) for some more. I did say please, I'm sure of that! The hair netted serving lady said loudly "look - she's done it again!" I didn't get my extra helping, and spent the next hour standing on a chair in the corner of the hall, long after all the other children had gone back to class. I was mystified! What did I do that warranted such punishment LOL. This would be about 1958 in Great Harwood.

[Accyexplorer]

I was never the 'teachers pet' G, as you probably guessed I was the class idiot and was a little disruptive to say the least (probably why my hands ended up red raw) however my teachers still managed to maintain control of the classroom unlike today's teachers.

We don't get snow or drifts like we use to,nowadays the country grinds to a halt after 6inch of snow.

I don't know why but,One thing about snow that I remember is it was always on a weekday (or at least it seemed that way) usually when school intervened.
I'm not saying we didn't make the most of the snow just I don't recall weekends of snowy weather.
After getting kitted out with all my finest snow attire (coat and knitted gloves) we'd have a snowball fight then it was indoors for tea.

[westendlass]

I once got smacked in the ear with an ice snowball on the way home from school by a lad in the year below me and I harboured a grudge against him for years, in fact I still hate the smarmy git! It must have been snowing during the week that week! Lol

[cashman]

Dont remember much except the Cane,Slipper,Strap,Pump, n the fact i was banned from sports activities when in 3 rd year, fer not turning up at Witton Park,to run in the Lancashire Schools Cross Country finals, which our school won anyway. Methinks they would probably be sued if they did that now?

[Accyexplorer]

Originally Posted by cashman

Dont remember much except the Cane,Slipper,Strap,Pump, n the fact i was banned from sports activities when in 3 rd year, fer not turning up at Witton Park,to run in the Lancashire Schools Cross Country finals, which our school won anyway. Methinks they would probably be sued if they did that now?

Without a doubt, I remember getting dragged across the class by my ear,it hurt like mad for 2days and when my mother asked why it was so red etc I was too scared to tell her the truth because she'd of made the other just as sore along with my backside......


....When kids are continuously allowed to claim so many rights and are allowed to blame everyone else for every aspect of their negative behaviour that they ride rough shod over everybody else's rights, i.e. those of parents/teachers (yes, I realise it's as good as a crime to even suggest that teachers have rights too) then the 'farce' that is called education in this country will continue.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by cashman

Dont remember much except the Cane,Slipper,Strap,Pump, n the fact i was banned from sports activities when in 3 rd year, fer not turning up at Witton Park,to run in the Lancashire Schools Cross Country finals, which our school won anyway. Methinks they would probably be sued if they did that now?

I recall something similar.
I once had a 'thrommer while playing netball. I was totally useless at all sport(I mean, in rounders who thought it was a good idea to cover half a brick in leather and call it a ball?)....but with netball I never knew which bit of the court I was allowed in....and was in a place I was not supposed to be...so I was bawled out by Mrs Whittaker.
'I hate netball...I hate games...i would rather do double maths' was my response. Mrs Whittaker duly dragged me off to Milton Suthers and arranged for me to have double maths instead of games(I hated maths too and was scared witless by this bearded beast of a man)......so for my last year when all my year were doing sport...i was sat at the front of the Class doing maths with Mr Suthers.

[MargaretR]

At primary school I recall learning to count using shells - lovely shiny brown, cream and white coloured shells shaped like snail shells. They were precious - I longed to have one but they were always counted when handed back, so I never tried to take one.

At secondary school I hated games too. Playing hockey in a gale, wearing only a blouse and knickers, wasn't my idea of healthy fum. I always managed to wangle my way to be goalie for the best side so I could spend the time sheltering behind the goalpost.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Margaret, those would be Cowrie Shells.
I remember them too. We used to use them as money in the toy grocers shop we had at school.......yes, our teacher counted them out and counted them back too.
I can remember one little girl called Violet swallowing one...what an ingenious way to get one home

[Guinness]

Originally Posted by Accyexplorer

Without a doubt, I remember getting dragged across the class by my ear,it hurt like mad for 2days and when my mother asked why it was so red etc I was too scared to tell her the truth because she'd of made the other just as sore along with my backside......


....When kids are continuously allowed to claim so many rights and are allowed to blame everyone else for every aspect of their negative behaviour that they ride rough shod over everybody else's rights, i.e. those of parents/teachers (yes, I realise it's as good as a crime to even suggest that teachers have rights too) then the 'farce' that is called education in this country will continue.

So you're an advocate of child abuse?

Dragging kids by their ear making it hurt for 2 days, or rapping knuckles hard enough to pop blood vessels turning them red..yup great way to get kids to learn, beat the crud out of them, and, according to you totally justified?

Did you actually become smarter because you were physically abused? Tell me one thing that you learned on the day you were humiliated and dragged across the classroom? (other than dont p*** the teacher off)

Are you claiming that kids should not have the right to protection from humiliation and abuse? Are you claiming that teachers should have the right to burst blood vessels and drag young people around by the ear at their leisure?

I learned more when I left school, most of my teachers were like yours...listen or else... didn't engage me, didn't interest me...when I left school and went to further education...lecturers didn't use threats or violence. they engaged and educated me

Good teachers NEVER need to abuse kids...

The one thing you are right about is that education is a farce in this country..kids learn by rote and linear curriculum, creativity and imagination is knocked out of them.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I had some fantastic teachers.
Mrs Armitage...gave me the reading bug(I couldn't read until I was seven).....made me nosey(although I prefer inquiring).
Miss Atherton inspired my love of artistic things.
Miss Smart......taught us cookery.......and allowed us to eat what we had made.

Yes there were teachers who scared me, but surely that was down to me, not to them.

I really do wish I had made more of the opporunities that were there for me at school.
The problem with being a child is.....you really do not know what you will need to know when you are grown up.

Children are required by law to go to school...when frequently they would much prefer to be doing something else. Teachers have a tough job.....what inspires one child may leave another cold. We are all individuals and this means that 'one size fit all' in anything does not serve all children.

Discipline has to be upheld.....otherwise no-one learns anything...and frequently any kind of discipline in the home life of many children is lacking...so discipline in school is an uphill job.

We were punished in school for trangressions...we wrote lines.....were made to stand on the 'line' in the hall....we were kept in at break time.
I did not consider these punishments to be abuse...or for that matter unjust. It taught us that our actions had consequences....something that children do not seem to grasp today.

[Michael1954]

I only got the strap once at school (Accrington Grammar). I was sent to the headmaster for smoking. He told me to bend over, and at the first whack my packet of fags in my top pocket flew on to the floor. The headmaster said: "See, corporal punishment does work!"