Figure 1.-- Few schools resorted to corporal punishment and instead used a wide range of more positive approaches. The results was a large number of very happy schools with none of the oppresive air that once marked many of these schools.
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Figure 1.-- Few schools resorted to corporal punishment and instead used a wide range of more positive approaches. The results was a large number of very happy schools with none of the oppresive air that once marked many of these schools. |
Anyone familiar with English literature has read both fictional and non-fiction accounts of schools. Some authors recall their schools with some affection. Many more do not. We are unsure if this reflects on the number of unhappy schools or more likely the fact that the more literary minded are more likely to become authors. Many schools seem to have been very strictly run with frequent resort to corporal punishment of various sorts. As best we can tell, this was still very common through the 1950s. This was not the situation we found when we visited the schools. We noted happy, but well belhaved children that went about their daily activities with no real need for correction or certainly no corporal punishment. Few schools resorted to corporal punishment and instead used a wide range of more positive approaches. The results was a large number of very happy schools with none of the oppresive air that once marked many of these schools. We noted a sunstantial diversity in approaches to discipline at the schools we visited and this significantly affected the overall atmosphere at the school.
Anyone familiar with English literature has read both fictional and non-fiction accounts of schools. Some authors recall their schools with some affection. Many more do not. We are unsure if this reflects on the number of unhappy schools or more likely the fact that the more literary minded are more likely to become authors. It is likely that the more sports-minded students were those most likely to have enjoyed their school days.
One of the features of these schools often discussed was the discipline. As best we can tell many of the accounts were accurate, including the coom use of corporal punishment. Many schools seem to have been very strictly run with frequent resort to corporal punishment of various sorts. As best we can tell, this was still very common through the 1950s.
This was not the situation we found when we visited the schools. We noted happy, but well belhaved children that went about their daily activities with no real need for correction or certainly no corporal punishment. Few schools resorted to corporal punishment and instead used a wide range of more positive approaches. Indeed corporal punishment is now illegal in the United Kingdom. The results of a more begign approach to discipline is that a large number of very happy schools with none of the oppresive air that once seemed to have marked many of these schools.
We noted a substantial diversity in approaches to discipline at the schools we visited and this significantly affected the overall atmoshhere at the schools. Some schools were much more strict than others. At scome schools the children were expected to stand against the walls when visitors were in the halls. Other schools had a much more open approach. At one school the headmaster's study doubled as a common room. Most schools were some where between the extreems. This means that parents have a considerable choice as to a school in which their child will do well and flouish. Here there is no right and wrong method. We tend to think that more important is the staff than the overall discipline system itself. Another critical factor is the child. Some children require a more formally structured environment. Others do better in a less structure environment. Parents have to assess the different styles of the various schools and select one where their child feels comfortable and is effectively motivated.
