‘Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child’ – Corporal Punishment?

Spare the rod and spoil the child is a famous adage appearing in the Bible and made its way into practically every proverb collection. It initially alluded to beating and is cited often but does not necessarily mean for beating in today's usage.

We who went to school before the 1980s were never spared for mischief and misconduct. Mischief and misconduct took place intentionally at times but most often one got into trouble inadvertently; feeling tolerable and be ensured to go unnoticed when in a joyful gathering. However, things never turned in support of one's self and if collective persistence was applied in protecting an individual, the result ended with the whole group being punished. 

Sadly though this is not the case today with the international human rights declarations on child rights; corporal punishment is considered as torture and legal conventions work the other way round. Most children today are overprotected and are devoid of any adventurism and has turned out to be dull fudgers in comparison to us then at school.  

S Thomas College Gurutalawa located in a 35-acre farmland was a heaven to the boarding schooler. The plentiful orchard with the seedless Golden Mandarins the rare Palestine Naval Oranges and the Japanese Persimmons was the Garden of Eden. There wasn’t any fruit named as forbidden, yet every fruit in it was marked taboo to us cohorts of Adam. A no go zone declared out of bounds. There was no Eve, for it was a boy’s school and no serpent cos the temperate climate did not favor them. However there was an orchard keeper called Goluwa, a dumb man says, Mr. Clifford Ratwatte a pioneering student, reminiscing his memories of school days. These alien exotic fruits were a temptation to defy and if seen by the Goluwa and reported to the headmaster, one ended up getting six lashes on his buttocks. This is about the earliest record of the corporal punishment conducted in this institution, established in the year 1942.

The orchard did exist even during our time in the 1960s but there was no Goluwa or any other keeper to watch our movements but the orchard was still ‘out of bounds’ and violators were the recipients of the corporal punishment.

Reprimanding and punishing mischief-makers did instill fear for misbehavior in others and thereby bring discipline and order in a school. However, there were times when things went out of hand and disciplining required spanking large groups of students. Often known as public canning where otherwise disciplining was done covertly.

I recall two such incidents during the late 60 s which today turnout to be hilarious but sure did instill fear in us then.

A rainy day in 1968. 

There was an understanding that on a rainy day evening prep from 6:40 PM to 7:30 PM would be held in the dining hall accounting for boys falling sick the following day by getting drenched in the cold weather going to the classrooms and back. Mr. Tuline Ratnam the duty master had professed for hall prep. Every activity in the school was on a time schedule communicated by Bell Simon who rang the bell by default.  However, the bell was only the communicator to start a new activity but ceasing the current activity happened only on the consent of the teacher in the class or the duty master assigned for the day.

On this particular day, the dinner bell rang at 7:30 but Mr. Tuline Ratnam the duty master did not consent for the ending of prep for some reason, and everybody remained seated. The senior boys were agitated and some started rubbing their footwear against the rough cement floor annoying Mr. Ratnam. This continued for almost ten minutes, each time Mr. Ratnam strode in one direction the boys to his rear would turn rowdy and when he turned towards them those now behind him would turn unruly. For us juniors, this became an amusement but dared not giggle for fear of being reprimanded.         

During prep time the college campus goes into a total silence until the dinner bell when a huge clatter is heard with the steel chairs pushed back followed by the chatter of the boys. But this day it was strange for the stillness to continue which aroused the concern of the headmaster Mr. Frank Jayasinghe who walked into the dining hall still in his tennis attire. He had been watching what happened from outside the dining hall and there was no necessity for owning up. His office room adjoins the dining hall and a dozen canes came into the hall.  To this day I am stunned of the stamina that Mr. Jayasinghe then in his early 30s possessed caning 56 senior boys four cuts each with twin canes. His longarm tennis swing was amply displayed in an effortless manner stopping only to change a splitting cane.

No grudges or revengeful feelings towards anybody, everyone sat for a quiet dinner under pin-drop silence. That was a classic case were the seniors thought that they could get away pranking as a group without punishment. The whole lot got punished but some would have been really innocent.  

School Assembly 

The second incident was in 1971 and is more hilarious. There were two notable brothers Desmond Miles and Gifford Miles. Desmond was a mild-mannered altar boy while Gifford the younger one was the exact opposite a mischief-maker and a terror in class.  Old Mr. Ganamuththu who took English literature would give us a piece of comprehension to work on and rest awhile in an unsuspecting manner. Gifford would note this and drop his box of mathematical instruments in a metallic clang to startle old Gananamuththu. He would then rush towards Gifford with his foot ruler to the laughter of the rest and smash Gifford’s knuckles with the ruler edge. That was Gifford.

The Headmaster was Mr. E L Perera a different type of headmaster who trusted molding children in a spiritual manner and did conduct small spells of meditation before school to different classes on a weekly routine. However, Wednesday was the general assembly day to the whole school that was held in the dining hall before the first period.

This particular Wednesday  Mr. John Marasinghe the headmaster’s secretary brought in four canes and placed them on the table before the assembly. ELP started with his routine sermons on good manners and meditation and ended with the general announcements. To our curiosity he started all over again in a harangue blasting of being ungrateful to the school of being unbecoming to one's parents, etc. and in the end called Gifford Miles to the stage….. It was a funny scene, ELP a short-statured man in his well creased Tusso coat and trouser looking up at a heavyweight Gifford.... more like  David looking at  Goliath. 

He then delivered to the assembly the reason for summoning Gifford to the stage. There was no need for Gifford to admit or confess to his misconduct for he had autographed his graffiti in the newly color-washed staff room.  Gifford had entered the staffroom after school for reasons better known to him and taken time off to draw a life-sized guitarist in a single line graffiti with charcoal and autographed it, Gifford Miles.

Gifford admitted to his fault and was caned in public at the assembly. Gifford being tall was asked to bend holding the table. Six of the best of ELP’s tennis slams ended on the back of his thighs. His bum was spared cos ELP being a short man was out of reach but Gifford had the branding on his thighs for weeks.

The  Prank that Backfired

There were other times when a prank played on another student would turn out to be a disaster calling for unexpected punishment. Such an incident took place in the Keble dormitory when we planned to play a prank on Ravi Rajendran [Ganja] who is now domiciled in Toronto Canada. Keble had the toilets as an outside block and a single one indoors for night use. Everyone went for a pee before lights-out and Ravi happened to be the last one that day. We had balanced a tin of water and some shoes, hockey sticks, etc. on the main door to fall on Ravi when he walked in. To our surprise before Ravi could walk in, it was the dorm master Mr. Marasinghe who entered being the recipient of the prank.

That day the whole dormitory got caned a single cut each on the bum including poor Ravi and many others who were innocent and never knew anything about it. But mind you that single cut on the bum over a thin pajama trouser still hurts when you think of it.

Of course, that punishment one could say was unjust, and beating the whole dorm was wrong. But today we know, not all punishments are for disciplining but there is a technical background to them as well. That prank played on a fellow colleague turning out on a staff member unintentionally had a hierarchical involvement in the school order.  Today we know that the single-cut we got was of a technical context to silence the incident from further discussion.       

I’m quite sure that none of us were spared from the rod and had undergone this form of corporal punishment at least once and of course, the incorrigibles many times. But we can all be pleased for what we are today and mark them incidents as a pleasant reminiscence of a cordial interaction between a dedicated staff of a great institution.      

Today corporal punishment is an offense leading to litigation. But during our time it was never reflected back from home neither was it discussed at home for things would turn out for the worse calling for further punishment.