Few features of the recollections are more striking than waiting.
The punishment itself might be brief.
Waiting for it could seem considerably longer.
The Corridor
A pupil sent to the headmaster was often required to wait outside the office.
He might sit on a chair or stand in a corridor while the head dealt with another matter.
During that period there was little to do except think.
The pupil knew why he was there.
He usually knew what might happen.
What he did not know was precisely when the door would open.
Waiting With Others
The experience became more complicated when several pupils were waiting.
One contributor recalled being punished with two other boys after they had been caught play-fighting on a staircase.
The boys were dealt with individually.
Those still waiting knew what was happening to the pupil who had gone in before them.
Another grammar-school respondent recalled waiting outside a senior mistress’s office while another pupil was dealt with first.
The waiting itself became part of his memory of the incident.
Hearing Without Seeing
A closed door did not necessarily conceal what was occurring.
Sounds from an office could be heard in the corridor.
For the pupil waiting for his own turn, this could intensify apprehension.
He could not see what was happening, but he knew that his turn was approaching.
The imagination supplied the rest.
Anticipation as Deterrence
This is important when considering how corporal punishment functioned.
The deterrent was not confined to the physical penalty.
There was also the summons, the walk to the office and the period of waiting.
A pupil could spend several anxious minutes anticipating an event which itself lasted only moments.
Thus the punishment began psychologically before the formal penalty commenced.
The Open Door
Eventually the door opened.
One pupil came out.
The next went in.
For children waiting together, this sequence created its own ritual.
Some attempted to appear unconcerned before their friends.
Others became increasingly nervous.
The social expectation of bravery could operate even before the punishment.
Time and Memory
Interestingly, respondents often remember waiting with remarkable clarity.
They remember corridors, chairs, doors and other pupils.
This suggests that anticipation formed an important part of the event.
The punishment itself may have lasted less than a minute.
Yet in memory the period immediately beforehand could occupy far more space.
When assessing the deterrent effect of corporal punishment, therefore, it is not sufficient merely to count strokes.
Fear of what was about to happen was itself part of the disciplinary mechanism.
