Describe Your Childhood

My children all went to the local C of E school.
They said that the only religious element was for the Rev. Pincent to visit once a year to 'put the fear of god' into them. (Rev. Pincent was vicar of the local church - Holy Trinity in Blendworth, and was father of the Olympic gold medal rower, Mathew Pincent).
I seem to recall something similar in my own childhood schooldays. (Rev. Stewart??)
 

Capt Lightning said:
They said that the only religious element was for the Rev. Pincent to visit once a year to 'put the fear of god' into them.
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Just my opinion but THIS^^^^^ in itself is a sin.
Children are at such an impressionable age that scaring them in order to teach them something doesn’t have noteworthy results. It seemed to have created many fearful, anxious, resentful students who grew up fearful, anxious and resentful. My friend was terrified of some of her teachers; to the point that she didn’t want to go
 
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I remember my childhood as being good. I attended parochial school for almost all of my education and, since the student body was rather small, I always seemed to have plenty of friends and I liked it. But as a late bloomer, the first couple of years of high school were a bit tough. Being male and small was a challenge but by my Junior and Senior years I had gotten to be a bit bigger and seemed to fit in better. Some of my best friendships in life were from those years.

I had good parents. My mother was the nurturer and my father was strict, what I now realize means he bordered on being abusive. That led me become rebellious and gave me some baggage I still struggle with to this day. But, from what I hear from others, I could have had had worse. My parents were good providers.

Living on the outskirts of town I remember almost always playing outside and riding my bicycle. I usually could find a neighbor or invite a school chum over to play with. I have 2 older brothers that were either my best friends or worst enemies. Life then was fluid.

Looking back, I see that I was not really an achiever but managed to learn enough in school to ensure that I could find an enjoyable career that carried me through my working days. I guess you might peg me as pretty average for my generation.
 

I had a happy childhood but a painful adolescence; my mother was a controlling narcissist who didn't like me developing a mind and direction of my own. Although I was a good student, it would have been preferred that I was athletic and popular, and I was neither...but two others from my graduating high school class with those traits attended the same university that I did, and I alone survived there!
 
A snippet of our ragtag country neighborhood;

Kids today seem to be having their imagination taken away from them, and given somebody else’s.

Got a 7 year old grandson that had a PS3 plugged to his wrist.

The lad was developing bad sleep habits.

His eyes had a continuous peevish look.

I get up at 3:30am weekdays, and a couple times when they stayed over, I’d see a flickering grey/bright light coming from underneath the door to the spare bedroom.

Cracked the door.

There he’d be, thumbs flittering at Mach II…..glazed eyes locked on the screen.

I surgically removed the controller from his hands, unplugging the umbilical cord to the box.

He threw a little fit and fell over in a twitching heap.

PS3 has mysteriously disappeared, replaced by my football, basketball, his now repaired bike, bugs in jars, and a myriad of wood scrap projects from my shop….and the summer pool.

If continued, I’m sure I would have looked in on him one morning and he’d be in the monitor, shooting bad guys and eventually getting zapped himself….

Back in the 50’s we relied heavily on our imaginations.

The converted broom factory we lived in yielded a pile of broom sticks.

These overgrown dowels easily became horses, swords, weapons of Little John of Sherwood Forest, and the prize creation of a carbine….wire two together and nail on a slab of wood and you could start pickin’ off bad guys….sure wish we’d had access to duct tape back then….

There were a dozen or so kids in our country neighborhood, and we all played together, ‘cept that time my big sister and Dennis Blickenson locked me in the garden shed most of one afternoon….still wonder what they were doin’……

However, generally we played with whatever was available……old tires, once flipped over a half dozen times to slosh out all the water, would roll all over tarnation and could be propelled by a piece of broom stick.

‘Course there were mud pies ‘n cakes created by our culinary experts Bessie and my sister.

Had a bite of their shiny pie once….pretty much the same experience I had when Gramma gave me a spoon of unsweetened chocolate….

One time at hilltop, we were all gathered at the flat part of the country lane (paved no less) where most the population lined their hovels…pardon…homes. A few visitors joined us, kids everwhere, pushin’ tires, ridin’ bikes, havin’ pine cone wars, chasin’ dogs, dogs chasin’ bikes, when the action lulled.



We seemed to naturly migrate together, cause Daryl was exercisin’ his jaw with a piece of bubble gum, and unfolding the comic. We all peered over his shoulder and listened to him haltingly read the mini episode of Bazooka Joe.

You know those childhood moments that you still vividly recall?

Well, as I peered over the shoulder of one of the visiting girls I noticed something a bit horrific. She was missing most of her ear! I looked around, and noticed another visiting kid missing one of his ears.

Then I just stopped thinking about missing ears, ‘cause one of the visiting kids had dug a chunk of melted road tar out of the pavement and started chewing it….now everyone was gathered around him, then we all dug out our own chunks….nobody mentioned how awful it tasted, and we chawed on our chunks most of the afternoon…..seems road tar retains its flavor long after Bazooka gets that gawdawful saliva saturated insipid wad taste.

Thinkin’ about it all a few years later, I remember getting a glimpse of Bessie Dodge’s ear one time (or where her ear shoulda been) when her hair was pulled back, and she too was missing most of it.

Kinda thru me off, ‘cause, even though she was my sister’s best friend, I had a crush on her, even before I knew what crushes were. But the thing that came to mind was the visiting kids. I put two and two together and came to the thought that they were all visiting the Dodges, ‘cause Bessie had a bit of a handicap and they did too…..7 year olds really start coming into realization of things if PS3s aren’t around….

Right about now if you are thinking, ‘I just read this and seem to be missing the point’, well then it’s just not for you, is it.

For everyone else, parents/grandparents, unite! The road’s gettin’ hot!
 
My second childhood has been so much nicer than the first!
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I was very lucky to have had a Wonderful childhood. My parents always put their children first in everything. I was the youngest of 3 children. My Brother was 13yrs older than me and my sister was 2 years older than me. I went to Catholic school and was afraid of the Nun's ,but so were many of the kids in my school. I was lucky to have great friends and we all spent a lot of time together. I am still very friendly with most of them that are still with us. My brother had his first child when I was only 7yrs old. So then I became an Aunt to a wonderful boy, who lived with us until he was 5yrs old. Oh how I miss those days.
 
Sassycakes said:
I was very lucky to have had a Wonderful childhood. My parents always put their children first in everything. I was the youngest of 3 children. My Brother was 13yrs older than me and my sister was 2 years older than me. I went to Catholic school and was afraid of the Nun's ,but so were many of the kids in my school. I was lucky to have great friends and we all spent a lot of time together. I am still very friendly with most of them that are still with us. My brother had his first child when I was only 7yrs old. So then I became an Aunt to a wonderful boy, who lived with us until he was 5yrs old. Oh how I miss those days.
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Sassy, didn't you hate being hit by the nuns? (One of the differences in America between parochial Catholic school and public school was that in Catholic school teachers could hit and beat the students physically. If a public school teacher hit a student they would lose their job at the very least.) I was always a quiet obedient kid and had never been beaten til I was sent to parochial school. To this day I don't understand it. And it instilled within me psychological flight mechanisms that I struggle with even now. It's been a life long problem.

Thank heavens high school and junior high was a blast.
 
chic said:
Sassy, didn't you hate being hit by the nuns? (One of the differences in America between parochial Catholic school and public school was that in Catholic school teachers could hit and beat the students physically. If a public school teacher hit a student they would lose their job at the very least.) I was always a quiet obedient kid and had never been beaten til I was sent to parochial school. To this day I don't understand it. And it instilled within me psychological flight mechanisms that I struggle with even now. It's been a life long problem.

Thank heavens high school and junior high was a blast.
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It's unbelievable what the Nun's were allowed to get away with. Luckily I was never hit by a Nun but one time a Nun did throw me out of my desk and I landed on the floor. She said "Oh I meant to pull the girl behind you". No apology for what she did and no helping me get up off the floor. Most kids were afraid to tell their parents because they felt their parents would side with the Nun. I didn't tell my parents because I knew they would be furious at the Nun and in the long run the Nun would never get punished.
 
I don't think you would want to read my life story, but I have fond memories of my childhood. I grew up in the 40's and 50's in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles. We didn't have much money, but my parents always did the best they could for my brother and me. I didn't hate school, but I didn't love it either. It was just something you had to do, and I was just average. I had good playmates including my future wife.

Don
 
Capt Lightning said:
My children all went to the local C of E school.
They said that the only religious element was for the Rev. Pincent to visit once a year to 'put the fear of god' into them. (Rev. Pincent was vicar of the local church - Holy Trinity in Blendworth, and was father of the Olympic gold medal rower, Mathew Pincent).
I seem to recall something similar in my own childhood schooldays. (Rev. Stewart??)
Click to expand...
WE had a 45 minute period of religious education 5 days a week !!

Interesting Addendum tho' about your kids Rev, being Mathew Pincent's father..
 
Always wished I were an only child. Always thought if my older sister weren't there we would be rich, live in a huge Manhattan luxury apartment and our neighbor would be Leonard Bernstein.
 
Well, we can't pick our parents.
My parents (especially my mother who was a raging witch) taught me what type of person NOT to be by her example. I became a pretty decent person in spite of....not because of my upbringing.
 
chic said:
Sassy, didn't you hate being hit by the nuns? (One of the differences in America between parochial Catholic school and public school was that in Catholic school teachers could hit and beat the students physically. If a public school teacher hit a student they would lose their job at the very least.) I was always a quiet obedient kid and had never been beaten til I was sent to parochial school. To this day I don't understand it. And it instilled within me psychological flight mechanisms that I struggle with even now. It's been a life long problem.

Thank heavens high school and junior high was a blast.
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I went to a public school and if kids became disobedient they got the strap but it was typically given at the principals office.

Some teachers took punishment into their own hands though. One morning we all watched a science teacher completely lose it on one of his students and use corporal punishment. The teacher never lost his job.

We had another teacher who used to grab students by their ear and drag them to the front of the class to ridicule them.

We also once had our history teacher who made us turn our heads to watch the clock for an hour as punishment.

None of the teachers lost their jobs.

My friend had her hands rapped with a ruler by her teachers. Nobody lost their jobs.

It appeared normal for teachers and principals to discipline the schools students.
 
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Keesha said:
I went to a public school and if kids became disobedient they got the trap but it was typically given at the principals office. Some teachers took punishment into their own hands though. One morning we all watched a science teacher completely loose it on one of his students and use corporal punishment. The teacher never lost his job.

We had another teacher who used to grab students by their ear and drag them to the front of the class to ridicule them.

We also once had our history teacher who made us turn our heads to watch the clock for an hour as punishment.

None of the teachers lost their jobs.

My friend had her hands rapped with a ruler by her teachers. Nobody lost their jobs.

It appeared normal for teachers and principals to discipline the schools students.
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We had "The Witch of Bryn Mawr." She taught us in 4th Grade. She hit kids with rulers, made a girl sit in the waste basket with her gum on her nose, pressed a kid behind a closet door. She drove one kid to biting pencils in half, while he was bright red in the face, from anger. She regularly insulted kids, throughout the day. Parents tried to get her fired, but her husband was a lawyer, and he knew his stuff. I found out she was still alive, at 92! I wrote her a hate letter, but I'm sure her daughter, whom she lived with, intercepted it. I was glad to discover she died, at 95. A truly wretched, horrible woman, with no redeeming qualities, other than being an OK teacher, when she wasn't tormenting us. Yeah, public schools had terrible, sadistic teachers, too.
 
treeguy64 said:
We had "The Witch of Bryn Mawr." She taught us in 4th Grade. She hit kids with rulers, made a girl sit in the waste basket with her gum on her nose, pressed a kid behind a closet door. She drove one kid to biting pencils in half, while he was bright red in the face, from anger. She regularly insulted kids, throughout the day. Parents tried to get her fired, but her husband was a lawyer, and he knew his stuff. I found out she was still alive, at 92! I wrote her a hate letter, but I'm sure her daughter, whom she lived with, intercepted it. I was glad to discover she died, at 95. A truly wretched, horrible woman, with no redeeming qualities, other than being an OK teacher, when she wasn't tormenting us. Yeah, public schools had terrible, sadistic teachers, too.
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Yes Public schools most certainly had their share of sadistic teachers who took pleasure in abusing children which oddly enough they’d get away with.
People got away with a lot back then but luckily I had a good childhood school experience up until high school that is. In fact school was a great distraction from home life.

Grade 7 & 8 were my best years ever during school life. We got to go on camping trips as well as a trip all the way to Vancouver. We stayed in some of the nicest hotels and took a 747 back. We did a student exchange program with students from Calgary for 2 weeks. During these trips it became clear which teachers did drugs. It was something I kept to myself though and am forever grateful to have had the opportunities.
 
Keesha said:
I went to a public school and if kids became disobedient they got the strap but it was typically given at the principals office.

Some teachers took punishment into their own hands though. One morning we all watched a science teacher completely lose it on one of his students and use corporal punishment. The teacher never lost his job.

We had another teacher who used to grab students by their ear and drag them to the front of the class to ridicule them.

We also once had our history teacher who made us turn our heads to watch the clock for an hour as punishment.

None of the teachers lost their jobs.

My friend had her hands rapped with a ruler by her teachers. Nobody lost their jobs.

It appeared normal for teachers and principals to discipline the schools students.
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Was this in Canada? I knew of a Phys Ed teacher in jr high who roughed up a student and was fired for it. Laws are different, I guess.
 
chic said:
Was this in Canada? I knew of a Phys Ed teacher in jr high who roughed up a student and was fired for it. Laws are different, I guess.
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Yes it was; between 1971 and 1973.
This type of behaviour would never happen in this day of age though.

I’m surprised teachers got away with things they did but they did. Some teachers smoked up with their students during these camping trips.
Note: I wasn’t one of them .

In high school a girl I was good friends with got pregnant by one of the teachers and he got away with it . It couldn’t be proven and they later got married and had the child.

These were good people who made a mistake but took responsibility for the mistake they made.
 
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What prompted me to start this thread was the gratitude that I feel for living in the surroundings I did growing up. Like some others here, I was raised by abusive parents however I was materialistically cared for, without a doubt.

My life was enriched by friends, neighbours, teachers and I’m fortunate for this.
Friends parents caring enough to let me stay after school every afternoon, teachers who noticed things most others wouldn’t and government workers who stepped in when needed.

My heart goes out to those who had an abusive upbringing and lived in poverty.
That would be a tougher challenge therefore I count my blessings. My childhood had depths of despair but I did find contentment in both my inner world, my inner social circle and my positive surroundings outside our house.

I’m at a stage right now where I’m at another level of learning new levels of forgiveness and it’s challenging.

Does anyone jump into situations with both feet and get so involved in situations that they can no longer see the obvious? Where until you step back to see the bigger picture, you were lost for being too close?

It’s a fine day today.
 
chic said:
Was this in Canada? I knew of a Phys Ed teacher in jr high who roughed up a student and was fired for it. Laws are different, I guess.
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I only had one teacher abuse me in 2nd or 3rd grade. If I recall, I wasn't paying attention; I was bored. She grabbed me by the arm & dragged me to the corner & told me to stand there for the rest of the class. I was scared of her because she weighed around 300 lbs.
I won't say how I got her back, but....take my word for it. I got even & then some....
She was probably transferred to another school; no one saw her in that school again.
Teachers who use their hands instead of their brains are taking a big risk. A teacher doesn't know how much abuse a child is already enduring at home. And, in a child's mind, a teacher is not the parent & a child may react differently to a teacher's abuse than a parent's.
 

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