For punishment to deter misconduct, pupils first had to know what conduct was forbidden.
Sometimes the rule was explicitly stated.
At other times children learned the rules by observing what happened to others.
The Clear Warning
The 1952 snowball incident provides a straightforward example.
Pupils were told not to throw snowballs and were warned of the consequence.
One boy ignored the warning.
When he was caught, the threatened punishment followed.
Whatever view is taken of the penalty, there was no uncertainty about the rule.
Written and Unwritten Rules
Schools possessed formal rules concerning matters such as attendance, fighting, smoking and behaviour in corridors.
But school life also contained numerous unwritten expectations.
Pupils were expected to know when silence was required.
They learned how particular teachers expected homework to be presented.
They discovered which behaviour would be tolerated in one classroom but not another.
Learning From Older Pupils
New pupils depended heavily upon older children.
A brother, sister or friend could explain which teachers were strict and what offences were likely to result in serious punishment.
This unofficial education could begin before the child even entered the school.
Learning by Mistake
Sometimes the rule became clear only after it had been broken.
A pupil might discover that a teacher regarded a particular form of talking as insolence rather than harmless chatter.
Another might learn that running in a corridor was treated more seriously than expected.
The punishment then served two purposes.
It penalised the immediate offence and communicated the rule for the future.
Consistency
Rules were most effective when consistently enforced.
If one teacher ignored an offence while another punished it severely, pupils could become confused or resentful.
The problem was particularly noticeable when teachers possessed wide discretion.
A school might have one official rule but several practical interpretations.
Knowing Where One Stood
Former pupils often speak approvingly of teachers who were strict but predictable.
The attraction of such discipline was certainty.
The pupil knew what was expected.
He also knew the likely consequence of ignoring the expectation.
This did not necessarily make the punishment welcome.
It made the system understandable.
And an understandable disciplinary system was more likely to be regarded as fair than one in which punishment appeared arbitrary.
