Church on the left, Town Hall in the centre, the view onto the school is obscured by the church building and we see only the house between school and Town Hall. Students reappear in it time after time, sometimes for the same misdemeanours, as evidenced by the “AGAIN!” tagged on to some entries. Misguided practice You can also view the links to 2000's items for all countries combined as a single date sequence at News Chronology 2000)

I wish to make it clear in putting forward this recommendation that I am very strongly opposed to corporal punishment of this nature; that I feel that the circumstances under which it should be necessary will be very exceptional indeed and may never occur. It must be remembered, however, that many of the younger girls in these reformatories are of a hooligan type and have had no training whatever, have no refined tastes and are not particularly sensitive and cannot therefore be appealed to in the same way as a girl who has been better trained. I would further point out that up to 1913 and even later this form of punishment was very prevalent in practically every Reformatory and that the Departmental Committee of 1913 which investigated this very carefully by means of a small committee presided over by Sir George Newman recommended that the power of corporal punishment should be retained by the Superintendents but expressed the hope that it would not be necessary to use it. At both the state and federal levels, the “troubled teen” industry—religious and secular—enjoys quiet support from many politicians. (Key fundraisers for Mitt Romney’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns hail from Utah’s teen-home sector.) Local courts promote the homes as an alternative to juvenile detention, and facilities can collect a variety of state and federal grants.

Is there any information on the incidence of crime in areas that have banned corporal punishment in schools, compared to those which haven't? I submit a recommendation regarding the application of the Managers of Kenilworth Training School in regard to the Model Rule No. 21(3) [...] with the addition of (a) "In case of grave necessity, corporal punishment on the posterior may be inflicted on a girl under the age of 16 if the previous authority of the Chief Inspector has been obtained. Such corporal punishment shall be administered strictly under the conditions The raid grabbed headlines, but the school reopened again, this time merging with Ford’s New Bethany girls’ school in Arcadia. Over the next two decades, both the girls’ and boys’ branches would close and reopen several times more—swelling at times to hundreds of students.

At Gospel Oak, there were two sizes of canes - one for students up to 10 years old, and a larger one for anyone above. I posted the above excerpt from Cornelia Naumann's novel in my first post on Doris Ritter, thinking that other than the whipping scene observed through the window (and translated by me here), the dialogue was fictional. And indeed, we know that Princess Wilhelmine did not witness Doris's whipping. However, it turns out the meeting itself between these three protagonists (Princess Wilhelmine, her governess/confidante Dorothea von Sonsfeld and the King's personal valet/pet bully Eversmann) and most of the words exchanges are historically accurate, but took place several months later, in May 1731. What is very bad news for Doris is that the provisions on rape are very specific that a crime is only commited if the victim is an honourable wife or maiden of good reputation. In addition, there is a specific paragraph on jailers having sex with imprisoned women, which is again only a crime if the prisoner is "otherwise of honourable character". That means that Doris, having been condemned to the dishonouring penalty of whipping by the common hangman, had no protection from the law against rape either by her jailers at the Spinnhaus or anybody else.I would go into the headmistress' office to collect the punishment book, which was a traumatic experience in itself.

Why are you so dismissive of research studies showing that the majority of violent criminals were subject to corporal punishment as children and that therefore corporal punishment of children should be avoided? The Departmental Committee of 1913 gave special attention to this question and came to the conclusion that the discretion to inflict corporal punishment must be given to the Superintendent, though they are silent as to whether it should be inflicted on the hands or on the posterior. I presume that they intended to leave the Superintendent a discretion also as to method. It must also be remembered that girls over 16 can be sent to Prison or to Borstal and that it is in the case of the younger girls that the difficulty arises. Step forward." I hesitantly stepped into the middle of the room and the first bailiff followed me until I was standing directly in front of the mount. A police inspector and sergeant came out and, in a moment of surprise, this girl of 18 caught the Inspector by the throat, got him on the ground and sat on his head. On the sergeant coming to the rescue she bit him in the arm, the teeth penetrating the flesh to the bone. In March 2010, the House passed the Keeping All Students Safe Act, a bill that would have banned the use of seclusion and physical or chemical restraints by any school that benefits from federal education money. (It, too, died in the Senate.) Andy Kopsa, who covers abusive homes in her blog, Off the Record, noted that GOP members whose districts host tough-love schools rallied against the act. They included former Indiana Rep. Mark Souder (Hephzibah House), Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt (Reclamation Ranch, Rachel Academy), and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx (King Family Ministries), who testified: “This bill is not needed…The states and the localities can handle these situations. They will look after the children.”

More clips from Timeshift

The implements used to punish Scotland's students in both recent and more distant times, and some case studies. (illustrated) However, this was not the end of the affair. Eric Dodds (OC 1023) was expelled three weeks later for writing a ‘long and patronising’ letter to MacFarland ‘explaining to him exactly what was wrong both with his behaviour on [the] occasion and…his general conduct in the school’. It was reported that this letter was regarded as by MacFarland as ‘gross, studied and sustained insolence’ which justified the ultimate sanction of expulsion. 11 You can also view the links to 2003's items for all countries combined as a single date sequence at News Chronology 2003)

When I phoned New Beginnings to ask about the family’s allegations, a staffer referred all questions to Wesley Barnum, the academy’s attorney, who did not return my repeated calls. I think you are to be congratulated on having restored the normal routine of the school in spite of great difficulties. In three parts: official views and opinions, recipients' descriptions, and full details of the two different methods used, illustrated with pictures of the various equipment used and of the strap itself.You can also view the links to 2011's items for all countries combined as a single date sequence at News Chronology 2011)