The ruler was also applied to our thighs and the side of our arms during these study sessions, as these parts were easily accessible and deemed suitable for a couple of quick, sharp swats.
When Mum decided to be more formal, we were made to stand up and bend over our study desks.
My mother would then position herself beside us and beat our backsides and legs.
The cane was reserved for more serious stuff, like scoring below mother’s expectations on a test – which, by the way, was a minimum of 96%!
We would also be caned if we got a note home from school.
We even got a few strokes for mistakes during evening studies, especially as we got older and the cane was used more frequently.
We always had to bend over our desks for the cane.
Mum simply give us a few stinging strokes across skirts.
Sometimes she would also order us to hold out our hands afterward and add a few extra strokes on our open palms.
Mother caned us hard – such punishments were very painful and always left marks.