Some schools had a definite policy as to whether pupils should be caned on the hand or the bottom. In others it was left up to each individual teacher. Does anyone know of any instances where the pupil had the choice of which part of the body the punishment was to be administered?

Only on buttom,with shorts on..

I think that the hands were the prefered area for girls and the bottom for boys. Just to say I have never agreed with caning on the hands - far too dangerous - the bottom is "natures place" and safe for the intensity needed for a good deterrent.

SC

I think this was very common indeed. A was told boy a boy who went to the all-boys comprehensive in my town (where caning was more common than at my mixed comp) that teachers generally offered a choice between hand or bottom. Boy George mentions in his autobiography that the teachers at his school offerend him a choice. In the STOPP anti-corporal punishment book, there is an account of a boy who was going to be caned on the hands, but "offered" to take it on the backside -- the assumption seemed to be that taking it on the hand was a milder punishment (hurt less, less embarassing) but that the teacher would enjoy caning his bottom more. I think that at my school, first time and minor offenders got 1 or 2 on the palm, but serious or repeat offenders got 6 on the bum. I have often wondered how teachers offered the choice: were these prissy teachers even prepared to say the word "bottom"?

Here in South Africa caning in schools was common right up until the early 90’s. The caning of girls was also much more common than in UK. Girls though were generally but not always, caned on the hand. I recall chatting to a couple of girls from South African Airways who both attended government, Afrikaans speaking schools and were caned more than once. One of them when asked to hold her hand out, asked if she could rather have it on the bottom but the teacher apparently refused.

Choice of on the hands or bottom was not very common after about the mid 50's and was left up to the teacher. The period after 1965 saw more caning done on the hands following advice from teacher organisations. they were afraid teachers who caned on the bottom may be accused of doing so for sexual motivation.

Before this the bottom was prefered far more than the hands for two reasons.

1) a stroke that landed on the fingers could damage the finger joints. I never heard of a caning on the bottom causing bone damage.

2) the number of strokes was greater then and a caning on the hand would result in the hand being too sore to use.....a good excuse for not working.

Two reasons prevailed for offering the boy a choice of having it on the hands or bottom. both these were because of the increasing concern about the way the cane marked or cut.

1) Some boys had skin conditions and many up to about 1960 had boils. These boils were often on the bottom aND UNLIKE a slipper, would break if hit with a cane. One can imagine the pain this would cause the boy and parents reactions to seeing the boils had been broken. Thuis was one reason why some teachers caned on the bare bottom.

2)If a teacher caned on trousers he had no way of knowing if the boys bottom was already sore from a caning that day, or a few days ago from another teacher or his parents.Worse still if the boy had just been slippered by another teacher.The situation could arise that a boy may have got six of the cane from the head for an offence. Later in the day, unaware of this a teacher could administer another three strokes across his bottom for failing to do his detention from earlier in the week.While parents would agree the punishments were deserved, but three more strokes on top of six already received that dat would leave horrific marks on the boy and would not be acceptable. By offering the boy a choice of having it on his hands or bottom the teacher partly covered themselves. The fault would rest withthe boy for taking the second caning on his already sore bottom.

George

We didn't have a choice as to wether we were caned on our hands or bottoms. Schools caned on the hand and when I was caned in the fourth and fifth grades and in first form I was told to raise my right hand and then my left hand. If I put my hand under my armpit or rubbed my hands after a stroke I was told to raise my hand again. For my last caning in first form the deputy headmaster gave me one additional stroke for putting my left hand under my armpit.