SCHOOL DAZE

[Neville Briggs]

Most days I pass by the local High School and usually have to wait at the pedestrian crossing while a trail of pupils sort of slouch across the road. They bear liittle resemblence to the appearance of pupils at my High School.

For better or for worse, my High School had these features.

* 99.9% of the pupils travelled by public transport or walked to school, there was no queue of parents' cars at the gate.

*We had to line up in the quadrangle to be supervised by a prefect, and could not enter the school building unless escorted by the class teacher.

* we could not enter the classroom until the teacher gave permission.

* As part of the school uniform we were required to wear a blazer with a shirt and tie. Or wear a business style suit. All items of outer clothing were school uniform with school colours and badges.

* We were required to stand when a teacher entered the classroom.

* No pupil was permitted to speak to a teacher in class unless they followed protocol which was to raise your hand until acknowledged by the teacher then stand up to address the teacher. Unless the Teacher asked you a question or you replied as part of the lesson, then you could remain seated.

* Teachers called us by our surname, we called them Sir or Ma'am. We had amusing nick names for the teachers but that was confidential information.

* Head teachers were called Masters with no apology for the authoritarian tone of that office and they administered the cane to unruly pupils. They never caught me..I mean I was good didn't need it.

* Older boys called prefects could hand out punishment for misbehaviour or untidy appearance, usually the humiliating task of picking up scrap papers lying around the quadrangle.

* If you did the school work, you PASSED if you didn't do the school work ,you FAILED. A simple formula easily understood even by us cretinous louts.

*And we learned things, like spelling, adding, subtracting, mutiplying, writing, and how to read and appreciate books. And we learned bush poems. We learned how to navigate the stormy waters of interpersonal relationships. Mostly by getting thumped if we went the wrong way.

* MOST OF ALL WE LEARNED HOW TO LEARN.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Seems we went to the same school Neville and if you were a girl they actually measured the height of the hem of your uniform to make sure it wasn't too short - of course once they had done that we rolled them over at the waistband to take an inch or two off and God forbid if you were caught out of school grounds without your gloves and hat.

[Bob Pacey]

School dances Boys on one side Girls on the other.


Run quick or you miss out.


Miss Glover alway was on the look out and would pair up the shy one's ( that was me of course )

Funny thing I kept in contact with her until she passed away last year ( Loved Poetry ).

[Zondrae]

Ah school days,

Those glorious days of oblivion.

I spent a lot of time gazing out the window daydreaming. This was often interrupted by a resounding crash, as an Irish nun smacked a ruler (or length of sturdy cane) across the desk behind me, causing me to jump a few inches in the air. Next I would be chastised (now there is a lovely word) for a few minutes about having my head in the couds. One of my teachers who would always have a smile when she was rousing on me, still remembered my name after some 30 years. Of all the hundreds of girls she must have taught, she remembered me. I wondered at this as she never used my name in class, always referring to me as 'herself'.

My high school rules even extended past the school gate. If we were reported for eating, talking to boys or misbehaving while in school uniform we could be expelled. Even the type of swimsuit we were supposed to wear (or rather not wear. No bikinis) was documented. There were two girls in my class who were 'asked to leave' for out of school activities. We were never told what the offence was.

I spent a lot of time standing in the hall for talking in class. This attracted the attention of all passing teachers who added their black looks or a few extra words - and heaven forbid if the Principal happened to notice you. (Discipline, my girl, discipline!) and the worst from the really ancient Nun was - "I hope you remember this at your next confession!" Oh the joys of old fashioned Catholic education. These days there isn't a nun to be seen.

[Neville Briggs]

We didn't have school dances Bob. All boys school. Sporting prowess was the admired carnal acccomplishment.

G'day Zondrae, Maureen. We also got into trouble for out of school peccadillos. Former pupils belonging to the " old boys " club were out there on the lookout and they dobbed.

[Neville Briggs]

That's it Marty. The triumph of post-modernist anti-wisdom.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Yep that's us the smart country - lets be innovative and original and do exactly what America does - that way we will be seen as being individual.

[Bob Pacey]

Mine was an all boys school as well Nev but sometimes they used to arrange dances with the Range Convent girls.

We used to sort out our problems around the back of the tennis courts and it really did not matter if you won or not so long as you put in a good show you were all right.

Bob

[Jasper Brush]

G’day Neville
When I left Primary school my secondary education was a Junior Technical School. I travelled to school by train from the town in which I lived. Instead of a ‘Globite’ case to carry books we the (schoolboys) would buy, new—never issued, WWII ex-RAAF canvas shoulder bags from disposal stores and use these to carry our books. Besides the three RRR’s my education straddled trades: woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing which was handy knowledge later in life.
Well, Neville I’m afraid I (and I deserved it) frequently received discipline by way of the cane. Once, I remember our class had finished a session of PT. We were all shod with sand shoes and were walking in single-file to our next school period—woodwork. I was having great fun treading on the heels of the boy in front of me exposing his heels; unbeknownst to me the woodwork teacher, who always carried a cane, was a three of four yards behind us. We entered the classroom, one-by-one. When I went through the doorway I was grabbed by the teacher and positioned to stand in front of the blackboard facing my fellow classmates. There we stood and waited until the rest of the class settled in pairs behind a work bench. When the teacher, a powerfully built man, was sure he had everyone’s attention he turned to me with a glare and said. ‘Macleod, you know what this is for?’ No good of denying the truth. I nodded.
When he had finished caning my right hand three times he operated on my left hand; if my hand was not high enough he would flick the cane under the back of the hand to have it at the right elevation.

Discipline was fair and instant. I the perpetrator, was humiliated in front of my peers (about 30 students), an example set that wrongdoing would be punished, I was given the right to provide and explanation before punishment was meted out, punishment was instantaneous and final. Did I suffer physically? Yes for a short interval. Did I need counselling as a result of my indiscretion? No. Was my conscious or sub-conscious mind affected or my life ruined? No.
Aside: By the way we were never allowed to wear sand shoes in woodwork class. We had to change into full leather shoes. We also wore an apron and our sleeves had to rolled-up to the elbows.

The other statements
I used to walk from my home to the railway station then travel about eight miles to school on school days in utter safety. No one drove their kids to school.
Yes we were under the control of our teacher from assembly.
Entering the class room: the teacher stood beside the doorway and watched every child file into the classroom. When I was in 5TH class at Primary school the last boy into class got a hit on the bum with the cane. Only the last boy never a girl.
School uniform: we had one but not everyone wore one.
Stand for teachers. In secondary school we had teachers for different subjects. No
We had to raise our hand to speak to teachers. All our teachers were male—Sir.
Teachers called students by their surname.
The cane could be administered by subject teachers.
Prefects handed out punishment. Serious offences were referred to the headmaster.
Yep! No averages in those days. You either passed or failed. Each subject master would have us swotting for about a month before exams. Some would give trial tests (English, Maths) from old exam papers.

Does anyone remember Oslo lunches. A couple of sambo’s and a piece of fruit. We used to call them ‘doggoes’.

Regards,

John

[Bob Pacey]

Never got the strap at school, Never got into trouble cause I never did anything bad and the only time I did they got me mixed up with another kid and he took the strap for me.

Thats what good mates do.

But gees he never let me forget especially when i had money to spend.

I thought I was real important because they gave me the key to the fish food cabinet to look after. I was so excited could not wait to tell Mum when I got home only to have my brother pay me out because it was just a wardrobe key that are a dime a dozen.

Bob