Punishment books provide an unusual opportunity to examine one of the oldest arguments surrounding corporal punishment:
Did it actually deter children from misbehaving?
The answer appears to be — sometimes.
At Catford, most boys appeared only once or twice, which might suggest that punishment acted as a deterrent for many.
But the chronic offenders tell another story.
One 11-year-old accumulated 13 separate punishments.
Other boys appeared twenty times or more.
There are even examples of pupils repeating exactly the same offence within days.
These cases suggest that simply increasing the punishment was not necessarily addressing whatever caused the behaviour in the first place.
That is perhaps one of the most revealing lessons contained within these dusty registers.
Children were individuals then, just as they are now.
What frightened one child into perfect behaviour might have little lasting effect upon another.
