We must have looked like a sea of blue, with all of the boys wearing light blue shirts and all of the girls wearing navy blue uniform jumpers over white blouses. The assemblies were directed by the principal, Mother Frances, a raw-boned Irish woman in her late thirties whose hair color was revealed only by the orange eyebrows that curved beneath the white cotton of her wimple. An imposing figure in her flowing black habit, Mother Frances was also vivacious and kind. However, at the first assembly I attended in 1961, she laid down the rules-no insubordination, no laziness, no playing the fool. She warned that “anyone who couldn’t behave like a dignified lady or gentleman” would “get it hot and heavy” from her.
Catholic School in New England2
Related Articles
-
Six Strokes Of The Cane15
As soon as I look at my actality,iew that I was a victim of the standards of punishment of...
-
Reckoning for shoplifter1
I grew up in the 1970s and early 1980s in northern England, in a predominantly working-class city. My father...
-
Corporal Punishment & The Gender Disadvantage82
Lose you job. That may be a stressor. Get divorced. That may be a stressor. Dog dies. That may...
-
Catholic School in New England19
Mother Frances said, “Would you like to tell the class what you did yesterday afternoon, young lady?” I couldn’t...
-
Just Desserts9
I sink into that tub when it’s like that and drift off to sleep. Then, when I sort of...
-
Sunday School in 63 5
Since we couldn’t see what was happening out in the playroom, we listened for clues. Each whimper, each little...
-
The High Price of Stealing26
“Don’t get smart with me Josh. I don’t think you fully understand just how embarrassed you made me feel,...
-
Receiving Corporal Punishment as an Adult out of Curiosity42
After an uncomfortable wait I heard his footsteps along the corridor and saw him enter the room carrying a...