What your teacher said to you that they wouldn't get away with now.

Back in the 80s, one of my colleague's pupils turned up with a diamond type earring, and she called him a big girl's blouse! Wouldn't get away with that today.

When I was at school we used have practice showers after PE - all the nudity, no water. Makes you wonder!

OH had a primary teacher, a nun, who made children kneel in salt

I had a primary school teacher who made miscreants kneel on a pencil

I was never an athletic child, but did like tennis. One afternoon I fell during a hockey session and badly hurt my wrist, and couldn't fasten my blouse buttons when getting changed. Our PE teacher, Prussian, Miss Luks, (sp) pooh poohed me and said in so many words, not to be a wimp. After a long, painful night my mum took me to A&E where it was discovered that I had broken my wrist. I did learn to write left handed ?

DH went to a series of private schools. He was pushed in the swimming pool to make him swim (gave him a fear of water, although he did learn to swim as an adult)and regularly had chalk and board rubbers thrown at him.
I got off quite lightly, although my top Junior teacher told my parents 'Your daughter and I disliked each other on sight and there is nothing I can do about it.'

I remember being slapped on the back of the legs with a ruler when I was learning to read, because I could not remember the word "saucer". We also had a rubber thrower and one teacher would belittle you in front of the class.

I went to an RC Primary School and one day in church I started a bad coughing fit. I think I was allergic to incense because it had happened before. My teacher a nun, was sitting behind me and she thumped me in the back and said "will you stop that stupid coughing." No offer of a drink of water or suggesting i go outside. She thumped me so hard,I just missed banging my head on the pew in front. Can't remember the end of the story but I guess I did stop the "stupid coughing."

That was my infants school..I was 5

Nasty head teacher of my head teacher.
I had fallen off jungle Jim in the playground and had gone face first causing a huge scab under my nose , my dad tried to "help" by soaking and removing huge scab and making it worse in progress.
During show and tell in assembly she grabbed my hair and pulled my head back saying to the whole assembly "Don't talk to this girl she picks her nose" her name was Mrs pratt ...

I hated school. We would have the cane on our hands and it really used to hurt. Or they would slap you on the back of the legs. The worst thing was making you feel small in front of the class, if you couldn't understand something immediately. I have numeracy dixlexia and anything with figures was a nightmare. The happiest day of my life was the day I left school. It was GCE's in my days, and when somehow I managed to pass in 4 out of 5 I was told it was a miracle, and that the marks must have been very low on that day. Never any encouragement or praise. I made sure when my children went to school that things were different and they were treated like human beings.

This comment is slightly off piste. There was a boy in my Primary school who was unkind to me and when I complained to my mother she said I had to learn to stand up for myself. So the next time he caused trouble I picked up one of those small wooden chairs we used to sit on and hit him over the head. I was not a violent child until that moment.

My mother was sent for and there was a big hooha. The boy was the son on the local MP Gerald Nabarro.

I have never hit anyone since.

My first infant school teacher smacked me across the knuckles with a ruler for holding my pencil case between my hands during prayers. Another one hit me over the head for not sitting cross legged properly - I've never been flexible and couldn't sit like that even as a child. My husband was in my class at school and we had one particular English teacher who hated the sight of him and vice versa - when we were about 14 he manhandled him out of the classroom and tried to hit him - sad to say my other half hit him back - the fact that he wasn't expelled probably says a lot! When I think back there were quite a few of our teachers who were either cuttingly sarcastic or threw things at people - some were very nice but my early recollections are not pleasant.

Hilltopgran - did you go to school in Brentwood? We had an outdoor swimming pool at school and of course the water was so cold. The teacher used to walk along the line of us who were dithering at the edge of the pool, and push us in!
I loved swimming but never liked or mastered diving in.

PE teacher pushed me in the pool when we went for a swimming lesson, I was standing on the edge and not expecting it, I have never been confident or enjoyed the water since, although I did learn to swim, I do not really enjoy it.

Thank you, corner. DD2 is a confident adult now. It's a great shame that your school experiences had a lasting effect. I agree that kids nowadays get a lot of encouragement and that's how it should be.

Every school in the country must have had a teacher who threw the blackboard rubber. Luckily they have whiteboards nowadays and those old wipers are obsolete. The teacher who taught the top Maths set, used to throw open the classroom door, throw in his belt ahead of him and growl 'I'll pulverise ye'. I am glad to say I was never in the top set for Maths.

I remember my first year French teacher screaming on a daily basis at us that we weren't so much class 1-o, but were more like 1 nothing, as in not a brain cell between us!

The gym teacher at my primary school would use her gym pump to smack bottoms. She also made those who forgot their gym kit do the class in their underwear.

Don't think child abuse had been invented back then?

Hope it hasn't adversely impacted your daughter bags. I don't think my parents ever queried it - grammar school teachers were held in high esteem, they wouldn't have questioned them. It's in my mind because I was sorting a box and came across my reports, made me sad. I am very happy to hear the encouragement our grandchildren get now, so it's not all bad .

corner, my DD2's secondary school teachers kept saying she should contribute more in class. It wasn't because she wasn't coping with the work, so at one parent-teacher meeting I asked why she couldn't just stay quiet and get on with stuff if that's what she wanted to do. The answer was that her 'contributions' would help others in the class. While this was flattering to DD, I felt it wasn't her job but the teacher's to help the kids and said so.

Not so much what they did or said but more what they didn't do. I was an only child, brought up in an isolated spot, shy, very quiet in class and lacking in confidence. I was fairly bright so there was little academic criticism, although no praise either. Every report said I should speak up more, criticised me for being 'me', there was no help to increase my confidence. Even now (after a solid professional career) I lack confidence and find it difficult to speak up in a group. It could have been so different.

How times have changed. I'm 63 and still in school on a regular basis as a supply teacher. Recently I asked a child who was constantly interrupting and disrupting the lesson if he ever 'shut up!' OMG, the group all looked really shocked! I didn't actually tell him to shut up, even though I wanted to! The boy in question burst into tears.
When I was at primary school teachers would shout and smack us. I remember being smacked for getting a knot in my cotton when sewing. Not saying this was right but think we have gone to far the other way and teachers are often treading on eggshells scared of upsetting the child or the parents.

My daughter had a swimming teacher who would tread on children's hands if they clung to the side.

Chubby is just a description. Same as thin is. Or black. Or white. Tall, short, etc.

Sorry about the use of the word chubby. It's horrible .

We were going the high jump in athletics and my (chubby) friend made several attempts to get over the bar each time crashing into it. Our bitch of PE teacher said she had reinvented the Fosbury Flop (so???) and renamed it the Donna Drop .