Confessions of an Old Teacher4

I believe and still believe the vital function of caning is to instill good behavior by fear of the consequences, and to that extent, the aim of a caning is to deter not the miscreant, but rather the other girls in the school form making bad choices. Whilst caning was always done in private, sending a girl straight to class, indeed escorting her there with a tear-stained face and in obvious discomfort was a real example and reminder to encourage others to toe the line. My success was that very few girls ever returned for a second dose. Most candidates for caning came oddly from two years, the lower fifth form (year 10) and the lower sixth ( year 12). In both these years, a few girls tried to rebel and kick over the traces. I tried to bring them back into line with our expectations.