Earning a Lashing

Grade One Day Zero

From the back of the classroom W. from next door was joyfully waving for me to join him at the back clearly he was going to give them all their hell.

In tears I was scared of being separated from my mother, but I think more because of other older kids' horror stories than anything else I was very shy I was a gentle child.

If you are 6 years old a 12 year sentence sounds like a lot of time.

10% or 80 ?

After school one day we went skinny dipping the neighbours saw the purple welts all over my lily white buttocks he'd went out with a knife and cut a piece off the hosepipe.

They were shocked for me it was not so very unusual he was half drunk already.

We had written our first little spelling test the teacher said we had to write on the lines otherwise you don't get the mark, confidently I handed him my 1/10 effort, it didn't bother me much I knew all of it was spelt right.

For the next test I scored 8/10 my dad with me trembling said nothing when I gave him and that set the benchmark 80% was acceptable. Grade 2,  Std 5 right on through Matric, BSc MSc consistently, 80%

The big X

To impress the little girl sitting next to me once I just drew a cross over the whole page of my exercise book corners to corners through my work smiling handed the book in.

Those first grade teachers hit you on the hands palms up with a wooden ruler later on on the boys on the backside with a black board ruler.

The teacher handled this one herself so I survived to tell the story, the cross was only lightly drawn I really felt it was unreasonable of her she had no sense of humour.

The holy Terror

A toddler another weekend too he was at home drinking and in a horrid black dog mood.

The beer carrier man was happily shaking can all the way while he had explicitly warned me not to but I shook the can vigorously all the way from the fridge and it just all spouted out all over like champagne.

He stopped hitting only when you've stopped screaming.

Mr Big Man kiddy shouting at and cursing labourers in the next door yard waving fist from wobbly little knees earned probably the very best hiding of all.

A near death experience you might say. He usually hit me only with a belt, a belt is not that bad it's more just the idea.

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Today more old fashioned but very clear was: spare the rod and spoil the child.

Remember the Bible approves and instructs corporal punishment as discipline even harshly, and 
I can think of many places and especially verses in the book of Proverbs, in the Old Testament but also the New Testament.

Ask me it looks barbaric I'm much too gentle anyway I think it is actually cowardly to strike a child on the other hand they can't just do as they like? Perhaps a last resort. Apply the rod to save the child.