Did you ever get punished in school? I did. :) I wasn't a bad kid. I was just a kid who pushed the limits from time to time. Not as bad as some but worse than some others. It was sort of funny how punishment changed from our freshman year to our senior year. I recall a couple of guys getting paddlings during freshman year, but by the time senior year rolled around, punishment had changed to more of an administrative type.
Anything from doing extra work to explusions to just plain threats. I remember once Miss McCall was given me another go 'round for being out of class or smoking in the bathroom or something like that and she mentioned the word "expel" and I said something like "That would be like a day off, huh?" She didn't mention it again after letting me sit in the office for about an hour.
It was funny when you sat in the office. Everybody who saw you sitting there knew you were in trouble for something. I'm not sure now whether they were trying to humiliate me by having me sit there, or sending a message to those that saw me. Sort of an advertisement. Maybe it was a little of both.
This showed up again several years later when we were relocating from California to South Carolina. My oldest son was 13 and one of the forms he brought home at the beginning of the school year said that the school system administered corporal punishment unless there was a note from the parents saying not to. Corporal punishment was unheard of in California. My son said, "You're going to write the note, right?" And of course I said, "No. If you deserve it, you'll get it." "They're not going to spank me," he grumbled. Guess what? They did, and it was the last time he was ever in trouble at school. I'm sure his maturing had a lot to do with it, but I think the "attention getter" did too.
3 comments:
I made it through h.s. without any or should I say many problems. Me, Pat, Nelda, and Sharon got called to the office a few times. Elementary was a whole "nother" story. In the eighth grade all the girls got a paddling for eating a doughnut. The teacher was out of the room at the time. The only thing here was our behinds.
Sorry, about my type-o. I should have said the only thing hurt was our behinds. I'll proof read next time.
I was sent (along with Sylvia & Ann R.) to the office by Ms. Mize for causing a disturbance in class (coughing too much). I was scared to death but Mr. Napier just let us sit there for about 15 minutes and then sent us back to class. That's the only time I remember being sent to the office. I cut class a lot in senior English but didn't get caught.
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