Getting The Cuts (strap) at School

In Days Of Old - School Was Very Different

When I went to school, we all sat in school desks, two to a desk. These were lined up in rows of usually three, and there would be maybe 5 or 6 desks to a row. Class sizes tended to be larger than they are now, usually in the 30’s.

It was by today’s standard spartan to say the least.

Yes, we sat in these. No padding, no cushions. There was even a hole for an ink-well.

Under the lid we stored books, pencils, other things we brought from home.

School desk

Classroom Discipline - The Cuts

Make no mistake – the practice of beating children for any reason is not condoned, suggested or recommended in any way. It was a disturbingly brutal practice belonging to a time well left behind us.

But that was the way it was, in my day corporal punishment was in-vogue. Most teachers both male and female in our school had a leather strap which was used to enforce classroom discipline.

We would be called out to the front of class, made to present the palm of one hand, then the strap was cracked down on it.

We called it “getting the cuts” – I suppose as a result of how it felt, a sharp biting pain.

Some of the female teachers would send students to a male teacher to be strapped, while others had their own strap. I remember sitting watching younger students come into my class to get the cuts from my teacher. Then one day, he sent his strap back with the children for their teacher to use. She must have used it, I don’t remember them coming back after that.

That was the way it was.

“Come Out The Front”

The command “come out to the front” was dreaded. It meant you were getting the cuts, the strap, the ultimate sanction.

You would have to stand then walk with every eye of the class on you as you moved to the front of the class room.

I remember that feeling of being called out the front. It was doom-dread mixed with a huge amount of embarrassment. ‘I’m getting the cuts’ was my thought. Then ‘everyone is watching’ was the next.

The teacher would go to the desk then produce the feared strap which was usually stowed in a drawer, but if the class had been unruly the teacher might have even been carrying it to ensure attention. Sitting up in your desks, nothing focused the mind like watching the teacher holding the strap, or point it at you when asking a question.

I remember standing out the front waiting to get the cuts with every eye on me and to this day, I feel some embarrassment thinking about that.

The experience of being strapped, of the pain, I barely remember. I do remember the sound of it, and I remember thinking that the others in the class thought it should hurt but I never really felt that. Sure, it stung, but it wasn’t all that much. The embarrassment was the worst part.

In my school one stroke was the norm. I never heard or saw anyone get more than this, and it was only boys. I never saw or heard of a girl getting the cuts. I don’t ever remember thinking this unfair either. Again, it was just the way it was.

How Was It Done?

Usually the student would be told to come out the front of the class, though sometimes the teacher would walk along the aisles between desks and strap a student if need be. It was quicker.

Hold out your hand,” was the command.

The usual method was to make the student stand with the arm raised, the palm held flat and open, thumb tucked in to make an ideal target. It is a very submissive pose, the flat of the palm presented and open and accepting punishment. That just adds to it all, putting the student in their place.

The teacher then put the strap up and over the shoulder, the elbow tucked into the side to help with aim. There would be a delay of a fraction of a second, just enough to gauge the target, then with a firm downward arm movement the leather strap would flash down and crack across the palm and fingers.

The crack of the strap was quite loud, sharp, I remember that. The sting would follow then you would be told to go back to your seat. Usually there was some form of telling off, usually shouted, where the teacher would point out what you’d done wrong and also warn you that you’d get the cuts again, and more, if you did it again. I remember sometimes the student had to take the strap back to the teachers drawer, or fetch it for use. That never happened to me.

There was variation in teachers and how often they strapped. I remember the worst teacher I had, an older man, shouted a lot and tended to have some spit flying through the air. He was very keen with his strap, just about all the boys got it at least once. I got it twice from him. All that said, I never thought him unfair. He gave a warning then you got the cuts if you messed around. Very simple.

What Strap Variations Were There?

In my school, none. The strap was a piece of leather maybe an inch and a half wide and maybe a foot and a half long. They could be shorter, or narrower or longer – but you get the general idea. They really were a nothing special kind of thing.

I don’t know where they came from. They could have been the end of a belt or a piece of harness perhaps. All the straps I ever saw were like this. I seem to remember that some had some holes in them, not large, which makes me think they were the ends of belts.

There was some school ground folk-lore about straps. The most common was that the teachers starched them, to make them more stiff to hurt more. I doubt that was true. I don’t remember there being discussions on how to make getting the cuts less painful.

Some blogs I’ve read suggested some things to reduce the sting which were quite stupid. We tended to almost ignore it I suppose.

I remember in grade six our teacher didn’t have a strap, so one of the mothers donated hers which he then proceeded to show the class and demonstrate on anyone who wanted to try a stroke. This is mentioned in another post HERE.

Other schools I heard of from a friend had a split strap, known as a tawse. These have a long history of school use going back nearly 100 years and they can be vicious. The split makes them sting much more fiercely. I had never heard or a tawse till getting into BDSM, and now I own a half dozen.

A cane was also used in some schools, but I believe they were mostly (or all?) private schools. Mine was a state school where the strap ruled supreme.

What Would You Get Strapped For?

I remember getting the cuts in grade 4 for talking to a friend. We were whispering and the teacher had enough. We were both told to come out the font, present our hands then he strapped us, one stroke each.

In grade 5 I got the cuts twice. I remember I got the cuts for mucking up a long multiplication sum. He put the sum on the board then checked everyone’s work. Those who got it wrong had to come out the front for the strap. There were three of us. The thing was, he’d said very strongly (shouted) that we must do it his way to get it right. We didn’t listen. We got the cuts.

How Were Students Affected?

I don’t remember feeling any animosity to my teachers. I do not remember any of them abusing their corporal punishment powers. It was to them and us just a part of teaching. I was probably lucky that way. Not everyone was so lucky.

I don’t remember resenting our teachers.

I remember it as being relatively fair, if such a thing can have that consideration.

One thing we were always aware of was how strict a teacher was, particularly if it was end of year and we were going into a new grade. That was always a concern.

I do know it had an awful and lasting effect on many people.

From my own speaking with friends and acquaintances, here are some real life anecdotes.

  • I know that at another secondary school a friend of mine called a teacher ‘strap happy’ meaning he used his strap a lot. The woodwork teacher. The implication was that he over used it. He was resented for that. It had a lasting effect.

  • Another friend in grade 6 said he was strapped unfairly and he got more than one stroke. He hated the teacher as a result.

  • A person I knew said he went to a religious based school. He commented that the brothers (teachers) thought a leather strap made the students smarter. He had a lot of resentment. He also had some significant drug and learning problems. The effect on him was awful.

  • A BDSM mistress commented to me that some of her clients can’t abide the cane. It reminds them of bad times at school. It affected them so badly.

  • Some younger Asian girls I met casually mentioned that they were caned at school if they did poorly or played up. Same at home by their mothers. This was relatively recent also.

  • I remember some of the boys in grade 5 had a need to play up and didn’t care one little bit if they got the cuts. It didn’t affect them in the least.

  • I hated getting the cuts. I avoided it. I tried to be an excellent student. It was the walk of shame that affected me the most – every eye on me.

Were There Lasting Effects?

For me, it was something that just was. There was nothing unusual about it, it was part of school life and everyone accepted it.

For others, they were badly affected and for life I believe. Truly, this is something that for some children left lasting and terrible legacy and hence it is right and proper that it has been banned in schools for many years.

Any search of the internet will expose disturbing stories of criminal level abuse of children.

Now, after much reflection about this for much of my life I don’t consider myself abused, damaged, traumatized by corporal punishment at school.

I do know it affected me. I can’t normally talk about it as I find the whole thing deeply personal. Exposing this on the internet is far easier. Even in pre-session discussions with mistresses, it takes effort to say what I need and hand strapping is one of the more difficult things to discuss.

What About My Pro-Dom Sessions?

Now, over 50 years later, hand strapping is something that I get in a BDSM session from a mistress. In the pre-session discussion we talk about what I have in mind and a hand strapping at the start, in the middle, then at the end of the session is what I usually ask for.

In the pre-session discussion, I find talking to the mistress about hand strapping the most difficult.

In session, time and again, the mistress commands me to hold out my hand (just like at school) then she gives me the cuts but there are many differences (improvements?).

A follow up post will document my pro-dom hand strapping and tawsing sessions plus discuss the whys and hows of it all.