 |  | | | The Belt | There are 7 messages in this section. |
Alfie Smith. Posted 18 Nov 2002.
I went to Fredrick Street school in Aberdeen for a year in 1951. The English teacher was a Mr. Mowat who used the belt as his daily workout, as he lined the class up for our daily belting we would heat our hands on a handy radiator and barely felt a thing as he broke into a sweat belting 30 odd of us. He was just a wimp of a man. | | |
|  | Rhoda Franklin. Posted 18 Nov 2002.
When I started school, we had to march into the classrooms in twos to a teacher clapping her hands & counting "1/2". I remarked to my neighbour that Miss Smith could only count to 2! For this I was belted (age 5!) some folk have no sense of humour!
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| | PYoung from Uddingston. Posted 17 Jan 2003.
A Mr Gallager from Glasgow had our English class in Viewpark. Every day as long as we had him he would designate me to call out the talkers or whisperers as we worked, reading, or whatever of course the biggest number of rule breakers were the girls who thought you couldn't see them but I did so I called them out to stand for the duration by the blackboard and ultimately got (2) of the best.The last one to get the belt was me, for what I don't know, If I missed somebody that was talking I would one extra for each one I was the only one to hold this unenvious job age 10
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| | Ian Mathewson from Bielefeld Germany. Posted 10 Feb 2003.
Growing up and going to school in the Fife town of Lochgelly in the late 60s and early 70s, we had a particular relationship with the belt (or tawse as it is better known) since the belt has its origins in Lochgelly and was, until James Black won the Nobel Prize back in 1988 probably the towns only claim to fame (!). I made several acquaintances with this instrument during my childhood. We did however fight back and I can still remember one of my schoolmates showing me the tawse of one of our most hated teachers ("Wolf" McGuinness) which he'd managed to remove from the teachers desk and which was literally bewondered by us just like a trophy of war.. I'm not sure what became of it but I'm pretty sure Mr McGuinness never got it back again. The High School I attended (Beath) was instrumental in the tawse's ultimate demise as it was thanks to the campaign of a former pupil, who refused to accept this form of punishment, and his parents who took the whole issue right up to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg that this item now is where it belongs; in the dustbin of history
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| | Mr A Ivanov from Bo'ness. Posted 10 Feb 2003.
Reading some of the letters about getting the 'belt' or 'strap' at school reminded me of my English periods at St Anthony's secondary school, Leith, Edinburgh which I attended 1958-61.
My handwriting was terrible and every English period without fail my teacher in my first year (can't remember her name) gave me the 'belt' until my writing improved. This took almost the full first year but eventually it paid off. I really disliked this teacher and dreaded walking into her classroom because I knew what was coming. English was never my good subject but at least now my writing is always legible.
Even now I still get comments from people about my good handwriting, usually it's "I bet you used to get the belt for your handwriting at school."
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| | George Paterson from Portland, Oregon, USA.. Posted 17 Feb 2003.
Attending Bellshill Academy as a young boy in 1940's, we had a woodwork teacher who did not
believe in using the belt, however when the class was noisy or unruly he would line the class in front of the room hand the belt to the first boy and have him belt the whole class, he in turn would hand it to the next student and so on till everyone belted the entire class, I'm afraid the bully of the class enjoyed it more than anyone.
TTFN Geordie
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| | Rhoda Taylor from New Zealand. Posted 11 Nov 2005.
School days in the fifties in Buckie High school.
Yes! I remember all too well the amount of times 'that' belt whacked accross my thin cold and clammy hands! Always cold and clammy as it was just a matter of time in the daily classroom routine when it would be 'leashed',and lashed out!
I would invariably get a real punch on my back by the teacher's clenched fist if I dared to show the 'join' of a letter,'O'! The belt would be given for EVERY sum answered wrongly!
Needless to say, sums were and still to this day are not my strongest subject! English however I revelled in. Not because of my first teacher who bashed me all the time, (I was four and a half then!) but the second primary teacher I had was a dear and I do believe I was by then considered not very bright and was put into her class at the age of five. "special needs kid', (todays terminology).
The first teacher is still alive and living in the same place all these years later so I will not disclose her name to protect HER!!!! I, however went on to become very successful in nursing,lecturing Infection Control, was appointed a Magistrate and I also enjoyed a spell as an air traffic controller in the R.A.F. Not too bad for someone labelled at the age of four and a half as being,'Not very bright'.
Great to read all the memories. I still think those days were just grand.
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