The No-Nonsense Generation

Spare the rod and spoil the child. Sounds Dickensian, doesn’t it? But if like me you are a member of the ever-shrinking ranks of The Silent Generation, that old adage could seem a lot closer to the truth than our juniors might think possible.

Discipline has evolved over the years. I’m not talking about what goes on within the walls of private homes. This is about how discipline in schools has changed since I was a kid; and having spent a large chunk of my life in classrooms on both sides of the teacher’s desk, I think I know whereof I speak. True, I’ve been out of the system for quite a few years, but judging by the bits and pieces I hear from people in the know, it seems obvious that much of the behaviour that got us in trouble back in the day would be unlikely to raise an eyebrow these days.

When I was in elementary and high school in the 1940s and 50s, little nonsense was tolerated. Corporal punishment was routine and if you went to schools run by a religious order noted for its take-no- prisoners form of discipline, you stepped out of line at your own peril.

Fortunately, I was a pretty good kid, but I still had my moments. In Grade Six, I joined the ranks of the wrongly convicted when some scoundrel wrote my name in ballpoint pen (a relatively new invention at the time) on the wall of the staircase leading down to the schoolyard. My denials fell on deaf ears and I ended up taking a few whacks with the rubber coated strap that was standard equipment in classrooms back then. That was not fun.

On another occasion, I ran afoul of one especially draconian rule. Lacking a school library, we were regularly marched over to the local public library just a few blocks away. Library visits were always conducted in monastic silence. Even the slightest peep was deemed felonious. One day I was caught whispering to a friend and paid the price. Two on each hand. That was it for my personal encounters with the strap, but I also had a few close calls – all the result of schoolyard misdemeanours.

In Grade Eight, I was the only kid with a baseball glove – a gift from my older brother. When we played our usual games of “work your way up to bat” I always chose to stay in the outfield. I loved chasing down and catching batted balls and I was good at it. But whenever my best friend, Norm, hit a ball my way, I would intentionally drop it so he could stay at bat longer. Unfortunately, one day, the head caretaker witnessed my shenanigans, and, unimpressed, told me in no uncertain terms that he would be reporting my unsportsmanlike conduct to the principal. I worried for a long time about what fate had in store for me, but I think it was all bluff.

Nothing ever came of it.

One Friday after school, we were playing in the schoolyard and the language (not just mine) was flying. Then I looked up and saw our principal, a dour, no-nonsense man looking down from an open second-floor window. He did not react at that moment, but was he just waiting until Monday morning to deliver justice? I sweated that entire weekend, but all for naught. Once again, nothing came of it.

By the time we got to high school, we were pretty well trained and, perhaps, the righteous men in those halls of advanced learning were a little more forgiving, but I never locked horns with their rules. Even back in grade school with the trouble bar set so low, I seldom got into hot water.

Yes, we were wary of the sometimes-heavy-handed discipline that was accepted by students and parents alike, but it wasn’t like we left for school each morning quaking in our boots. Not at all. We had fun. And we didn’t have to live in fear of the bullying and teasing we hear about today. If we behaved, we never had a problem from the teachers and rarely, if ever, had a problem with other kids.

But times change and disciplinary practices that were no big deal in the 40s and 50s would be unthinkable today. Even I would not want to turn back the clock. But here’s where I have a real disconnect. I may be wrong, but I have a sense that schools back then provided a healthier overall environment, and when adults fail to make kids truly accountable for their behaviour – be it at home or in school – we do nobody any favours.