Beyond the Study Door

One of the most enduring memories of a traditional boys' school must be walking past the headmaster's study shortly after morning assembly and seeing nervous-looking boys waiting before its door as their headmaster summoned them in one-by-one. Sometimes, there was a boy already in there and that ominous swish sometimes followed by a muffled gasp or even a faint yelp could be heard through its dark-stained oak panels, thus leaving the boys outside under no illusion of what awaited them within.

Most boys were visibly nervous as they heard what was to be soon their inevitable fate and usually avoided eye contact with one another as they shuffled slightly from foot to foot. Most would attend to their uniforms, fixing their ties snuggly against their white collars in a vane bid to placate their master who, pleased by their smart appearence, might go a little easier on the lad and reduce the harshness of the caning.

From the master's or indeed the mistress's point of view, this was a very good sign since a smart uniform was a sure sign that the boy was making a valid attempt to openly acknowledge his acceptance of authority. And this was before the caning had even commenced!

Such was the effect of the cane upon a boy's mind. It ensured that proper boundaries could be maintained around the school regarding behaviour, attitude and work and avoiding its potent sting was a very effective guarantee that the importance of meeting these standards would be impressed upon young minds. Indeed, I have heard the cane described as an 'eloquent protagonist' in the matter of puting forward the case on behalf of authority and how a few well-placed swishes can bring this message through to even the deafest of ears and focus the most relcalcitrant of minds upon the need to respect his elders and accept their authority.

A Humane Alternative

For many generations, the birch was a favoured tool of correction for use in a wide variety of settings including the judicial system, prisons, the army and schools. The birch was quite simply made from the more supple twigs of the birch tree which were bound together to form a redoutable implement of correction. Birchings were normally delivered by swiping the twigs across the bare backside of the offender and no doubt had a very beneficial effect in regards to maintaining order and discipline among groups of teenage boys and young men.

However, as the Victorian age progressed, an increasing number of schoolmasters and mistresses favoured using the cane made from rattan a fast-growing canewood that grows plentifully in the Far East. This new more enlightened generation of educationalists were attracted by its smooth, yet very flexible qualities which enabled it to deliver a suitably harsh sting without actually causing any abrasions. Moreoever, it was effective over clothing and took away the necessity for the boy to lower his trousers; an important consideration due to the modesty of the Victorian period.

A Sense of Ceremony

When dealing with more serious misdemeanours, there was a stronger sense of ceremony involved with the caning and with good reason too. By formalising the event, both the gravity of the misdemeanor and the importance of facing up to a meaningful consequence provided by those in authority was all the more effectively impressed upon the boy's mind.

In many cases, a more formal caning was arranged for an appointed time and place, always at the master's convenience of course. This might be at the end of the school day or even the following morning in his study. In some cases, the master might choose to send a prefect to summon the boy from a lesson. In this way, the boy was never sure when his caning would take place and therefore heighten the anxiety in order to add to the punishment.

A good many masters attended to their own appearence in order to make the right kind of effect when the boy finally entered his study. One image that was popular was to stand ominously at the centre of the study wearing a formal academic gown and holding the cane between both hands, occasionallly flexing it into a curved arc and back again as he spoke to the lad.

Lady teachers also favoured the wearing of an academic gown and tastefully complemeted with a formal skirt and blouse, this could most certainly enhance her overall persona of a figure of authority in the boy's eyes. Personally, I always thought that it was necessary to reflect the values and ethos of the school and, through my appearence, give a strong impression to the boy that he is about to encounter the full authority of his school.

When a schoolmaster or schoolmistress donned his academic gown, this was a deliberate attempt to subconciously personify the very essence of authority and not his or her own feelings on the matter.

Entering the Study

As the boy would be anxiously straightening his school tie in nervous anticipation before his master or mistress's study, he would inevitably hear his surname called from behind the door. This most certainly inspired dread in most boys since this was his cue to enter the study where he would be sternly greeted by a gowned figure gently flexing a school cane in his hands and then directed towards a bare wooden chair positioned in the very middle of the room. Few words would be spoken between master and boy since the boy knew full well what was expected of him. Once he had taken up his position at the chair, his housemaster would administer the required number of strokes.

Some English housemasters said nothing at all, surmising that the hiss of the cane was sufficiently eloquent in itself. As one elderly master once told me, “after three or four well placed strokes on his behind, it is usually the boy’s voice that fills my study as he becomes ever more keen to prove to his master that he has indeed learnt his lesson. Nothing quite compares to a traditional English rattan cane in its pleasing ability to inspire a very sudden willingness in even the toughest of schoolboys to improve his behaviour, show obedience towards his masters and adopt a more respectful attitude towards those who hold authority over him.”

The Prep School Cane

The age at which it was deemed suitable to cane a boy obviously varied from school to school. In some cases, eight or nine was considered the time when boys would benefit from a more formal approach whereby they would leave the pre-prep section and enter a new building and be taught by new teachers. Here their new masters and mistresses would be most likely equipped with a small prep school cane which would be light in weight and shorter than other canes thus making it more suitable for punishing younger boys with no risk of causing any real harm.

Most of the young boys’ masters would confine the cane to occasional use, administering a single swipe to their pupils’ bottoms as and when deemed necessary. Most masters, however, felt that ten or eleven was nearer the mark and it was not uncommon for a master to line up a class of recalcitrant 12/13-year olds at the end of his lesson and deliver a keenly aimed swat to the palm of each boy’s hand as he left the room as a salutary reminder of the need for good behaviour and hard work during his lessons.

I knew a good many English schoolmasters who kept a small prep school cane close at hand even when teaching far older boys at senior level. Even for the larger and more robust 15 or 16-year old, being summoned to the front of the classroom by an experienced schoolmaster with a prep school cane in his hand in order to receive a very harsh swat to his outstretched palm would certainly quell any further notions of trying to challenge his master’s authority. The unbearable stinging sensation was quite enough to keep most young lads on their toes and decide that obedience is, by far, the better option.

The Junior Cane

By the time a boy had reached the age of eleven or twelve, his housemaster would eventually decide that a longer and more thickly made cane was needed in order to deliver the same message home. For the more experienced prep schoolmaster, there was no set age for when a boy might start to require a more sturdily built cane. He would judge it according to the individual boy and what was most appropriate for his case. In some cases, a smallish 13-year old might find three or four strokes from a light prep school cane still very exacting whilst the same housemaster might judge a stocky eleven year old to be more than ready to be ‘taken through the paces’ with a few strokes from the much stouter junior cane, which would normally be used for boys in their early teens at senior school.

As one experienced housemaster once explained to me, “It is the boy who decides on when the time has come to apply a stouter rod. He will signal this fact to his housemaster without even knowing he is doing so. He will be less apprehensive as he enters my study, he will take up position with apparent indifference, he will perceive it as mechanical. When he experiences his first stroke from my larger cane, quiet nonchalance suddenly turns to a feeling of shock and panic and, by the second stroke, he soon realises that he is no longer in for an easy ride, by the third, the quiet calm by which he entered my study is quite gone and his remorse is very apparent!”

The Senior Cane

Most certainly the cane that inspired the most dread in every English schoolboy was the senior cane. Especially designed for 16 and 17 year olds, it was half a times thicker than the junior school cane and could deliver a harsh thwack that would make its smaller relative seem quite flimsy and pathetic in comparison! The senior cane was generally kept in the headmaster’s study and only used in the most extreme of cases and, when used, even the toughest of boys had little chance of leaving his study with completely dry eyes.