28 ..7 / 8 year olds

Harvey ( here with his Dad Iain)  is 8 years old and   just look at that cheeky face

Today at Harvey's school their class  had " meet the grand parents day"  ... basically they wanted to ask questions of us,  about all manner of things to do with our own schooling especially our primary school..

There was some very well thought out questions  ... and some very basic ones ....  like did we get to use computers etc .. they could just not get the concept that there were so few things in our day even down to school activities in the class room ... very little art or inside games played  we were there to learn not play was the attitude of the day .
They were amazed that we sat at desks all day no carpet on the floor ... had the cane or the slipper for naughtiness, called teachers by Miss, Mrs or Sir  ...  none of this christian name  stuff.
 
I wonder why I could only remember the naughty things I did ... what does that tell you  ... may be that the punishment stayed in my mind rather than the  learning we did at primary school ... but I am talking about the late 1940"s and  early 1950's here...

I remember that we had a coke pile ( coal to heat school)  in a corner of the play ground it was like a magnet to kids ... I think I got caught at least a dozen times in  3 years of primary.
Climbing on it  was a game to see who could get to the top before your were caught by the teacher on play ground duty  ... this misdemeanor  had  corporal punishment each time ... either the ruler or the cane on the back of the hand or legs ... may be I was thick and it did not sink in that it was a No No and to stay away.
 By the way ...   you did not go home and complain to Mum for all you got for that was another clip  around the ear  for not behaving  at school.... so you were in a  no win situation  ... my god life was hard in those days .

I remember standing outside the head's room for not eating my school dinner, also for losing my pencil,  the worst time was for saying shut up to another child while I pushed him over in the assembly hall he hit the deck and cut his lip which I remember bled  and bled ... gee I must have been a bit of a brat when I first started school  ... but then again the other Grandma's there today related the same kind of things how we had to look after ourselves ... none of this running to the teacher etc moaning that this one or that one hit me ... we soon learnt what not to do  in the hierarchy of kids  and soon learnt your place.

I think I must have grown out of all of this by the time I hit junior school at 8 yrs old for I don't remember getting into trouble there.

It was a great  time remembering with the other Grandma's and swapping stories from our past.