Whole Class Punisment104

I have heard several reports of canes splitting at the ends, although I accept entirely that the majority did not. Your point that this was most likely due to the cane being used to strike a hard object is quite possibly the explanation, although I know of at least a couple of schools who appear to have used simple bamboo garden canes and these tended to split fairly easily, and I knew of a Headmaster in a London secondary school who ordered a heavy tawse on the grounds that his cane had developed a split at the tip and he was concerned that it might cause damage when used. He had heard of the Lochgelly tawse, ordered one up and was, by his own account, delighted with its effectiveness. In Scotland it was far from unknown for teachers to suddenly bring their belts down hard on the desk of an unsuspecting pupil. Made one hell of a noise and gave him/her quite a shock, but did no damage to the tawse. Perhaps the same could not be said of the cane if used in a similar manner.