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KKxyz3,59957
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
It seems likely that the US school paddle derived from common parental practice, and that it was adopted by schools after education became compulsory. If so, we should be able to find mentions of parental paddling in the literature.
Those Brewster children By Florence Morse Kingsley. Published 1910
http://archive.org/details/thosebrewsterchi00kingiala
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433076 … =%3Bseq=31
pages 16-17
[. . .]
The man pursed up his lips in an inaudible whistle. “Upon my word, Betty,” he broke out at length, “I don’t know as I can tell you. We don’t stand for whipping, you know. Beating small children always struck me as being a relic of the dark ages; and I know I could never stand it to see a child of mine cower before me out of physical fear. But we mustn’t spoil ’em !”
“Marian Stanford whips Robbie every time he disobeys,” Elizabeth said after a lengthening pause. “She uses a butter-paddle, the kind I make those little round balls with; you know it has a corrugated surface. She says it is just the thing; it hurts so nicely. But I’m sure Robbie Stanford is far naughtier than Carroll ever thinks of being.”
Her husband broke into a helpless laugh which he promptly repressed at sight of her indignant face.
[. . .]
And several other mentions.
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holyfamilypenguin4,5593
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
Some children didn’t tell their parents they were paddled while others did. Paddles are different when they come home and face the music. Even in 1959 there were parents who thought their child could do no wrong and their teachers can do no right. It reminds you of those pathetic mothers that are too often exaggerating IMHO the paddling their “poor little children” are getting on television. They don’t seem to be convincing. The commonality is the children all look spoiled,
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KKxyz3,59957
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
American Way kindly drew attention to:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Te … 473,886738
Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era. Page 4, 13 Apr. 1959.
When One Meant Two J. E. Stanford In The Kentucky Farmer
I remember when I was a kid and got a licking in school, I got an extra one when I got home. My dad gave me a thrashing at home for each one I got at school, and they were not “love licks” either.
Now, it’s a common occurrence for one or both parents to want to whip the teacher when one of their over-petted and badly spoiled offspring gets a very mild paddling in school. From the way some of these parents carry on about their misbehaving youngsters getting spanked with a paddle – not as large as an old-fashioned butter paddle – you’d think the teacher had tried to commit murder with a baseball bat. Sometimes, the parents behave worse than their children. In many cases the child is following the bad behavior pattern set day by day by the parents.
In these cases, you can put your finger on one of the main reasons for disrespect for law and order and the rights of others. This ever-increasing thing we call juvenile delinquency has a lot of adult delinquency mixed with it. These parents who throw a fit every time one of their kids gets his “sitter” paddled, don’t seem to realize that discipline is an important part of an education.
When we see so much of this attitude on the part of parents, it is no wonder such an amazing per cent of freshmen in college can’t make a go of it and fall by the wayside. A head start toward bad citizenship and failure in life has been made when there is not proper discipline in both the home and the school.
Far too many parents take the attitude toward their children as the woman did who told her neighbor that she had never hit one of her children a lick except in self-defense.
A lot of people seem to be like the lady who gave the teacher a long list of instructions when she entered her little son in school. My Charles is so sensitive she explained, “Don’t ever punish him. Just slap the boy next to him. That will frighten Charles and make him behave.”
It is tremendously important that parent, realize good citizenship has its root implanted in the home. school and church, and that child delinquency is going to grow by leaps and bounds so long as we fail to make proper use of those childhood training centers.
The notion that children / things were better in earlier times has been a common one at least since the times of ancient Greece and probably much longer.
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
The use of butter paddles and other domestic impliments were mentioned 18 – 22 July, 2011, above.
A further mention of utility paddle appears in the humorous US civil war satire:
Smoked glass By Orpheus C. Kerr. [pseud.] New York, G. W. Carleton, 1868.
Source: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/139 … %3Bseq=220
page 204 (A cornered cat under a house is mistaken for a fox during the “Munchausen Hunt”)
In the moment, and while yet he was unguardedly stooping almost double, a window right at my nose flew open like magic, an aged unmarried sister-in-law of the late Southern Confederacy appeared thereat, armed with a huge butter-paddle, and passionately used the latter to inflict an ear-splitting spank upon the absorbed fox-hunter.
Overcome by feelings too intense to be expressed in print, the nearly murdered Federal officer leaped high into the atmosphere, and came down upon a dog that was making his toilet.
Author’s details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henry_Newell
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AlanTuringCodebreaker1,275
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
KK, you’ve woken up an old memory from back in the mid-fifties, when I was quite small and used to go shopping sometimes with my mother in school holidays. There was a small Sainsbury’s shop in Willesden Green near the tube station (way before they had supermarkets) and I remember that, unlike many of the other shops, the customers had to queue parallel to the counter.
A common purchase was half a pound of butter. This didn’t come pre-wrapped; instead there was a great block of butter. The shop assistant would cut off a portion with a wire and then, for some reason, paddle it into shape. I really don’t know why this was necessary. Also, there was no connection in my young mind between this activity and possible other uses of a small wooden bat.
They would also sell you a single “standard egg” for twopence three-farthing! 
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hcsj441,211
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
As the Forum is very quiet, please excuse a drift off-topic.
Alan Turing commented: …there was a great block of butter. The shop assistant would cut off a portion with a wire and then, for some reason, paddle it into shape. I really don’t know why this was necessary.
I don’t think I ever went to Sainsbury’s in Willesden Green, but my recollection from the Golders Green branch and also the grocery shop owned by my grandfather, the butter was not cut with a wire, but with the edge of the paddles themselves, resulting in a slightly mis-shapen lump that would be difficult to wrap. The paddles were then used to mould it to a regular shape so it could be neatly packaged in grease-proof paper. Wires were certainly used for cutting the cheese.
Other memories of Sainsbury’s include the single cashier in a booth at the far end of the store and a few chairs strategically placed for those unable to stand in the queue for long. There was no question of prams or pushchairs being taken into the store; babies were left outside unattended. On one occasion (it would be in 1945), my mother forgot I was there and returned home, leaving me in my pram outside Sainsbury’s! There was no panic, the shop staff just kept a watchful eye on me until my mother returned. How times and attitudes change!
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Another_Lurker10K289
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
<div style=”width:100%;background-image:url(/realm/A_L_123/A_L_trg.gif);”>Hmm, unlike my greatly esteemed fellow contributors Alan Turing and hcj, who were London based, we didn’t aspire to posh shops like J Sainsbury in the Midlands mining town I lived in in the mid 1950s. It were t’Co-op or t’corner shop or that there beer-off and grocery in t’igh street.
I can’t recall how butter was cut from bulk in the various establishments, but they certainly used to bash it into some semblance of symmetry with paddles to wrap it, just as my fellow contributors recollect.
And Mr Turing’s 2¾d single standard egg? Well the Bank of England Inflation calculator tells us that £1 in 1955 was the equivalent of £21.52 in 2011. So in round figures 2¾d in 1955 money would be the equivalent of about 25p in today’s cash.
I don’t know if Sainsbury’s will actually sell you a single egg, but this price comparison page, which gives single egg prices for the various egg sizes, qualities and packs, seems to indicate that 25p for a single ‘standard’ egg probably isn’t too far off the mark today.</div>
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holyfamilypenguin4,5593
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
The old district school: a farce in two acts with music. New version. Music … 1906. By William E. Danforth, George F. Rosche.
Flapping Paddle.
Two Hours of Roaring Fun Come and See the Spanking Machine. 1906.
Scroll Down to 1940 performance.
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KKxyz3,59957
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
The old district school; a farce in two acts with music. William E. Danforth, (1906)
Source: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081 … d=%3Bseq=9
PROPERTIES.
Dinner pails for all scholars, also hats; slates, pencils and books for all scholars; ruler; school-bell; alarm clock; blackboard; chalk; apple; lead pencil; dunce-block; dunce-cap; 2 soap boxes of same size; fish pole with line and small paper ball on end of line; Brigham Young’s excuse from his mother; large paper ball to throw at teacher; toy bug that can be wound up so that it will run around on the floor; cabbage; arm-full of wood; placard with string and “Teacher’s a Donkey” on placard in large letters; flapping shingle for spanking; 3 diplomas for graduates; 3 chairs; seats and desks for pupils; desk or table for teacher ; hand-made hat-rack with nails or pegs.
Note.- The flapping shingle for spanking is made by whittling a handle to two shingles, tying them firmly together at handle, inserting a thick piece of paste-board between shingles near handle, so that when they strike they clap together with loud whack. The diplomas, when rolled up and tied with gay ribbons with long streamers, should be four or five feet long. (It brings a laugh.) [. . .]
The paddle seems to be very much the preferred implement in USA schools. When did it first come into widespread use? I am particularly interested in early mentions of the school paddle in dated factual or fictional literature, and in official documents.Have other cultures used the paddle in schools?
