Growing up the South, if you were a guy that is, meant getting licks at school. That's just how it was. Every man I know today, at least over the age of 30, got licks at some point in school. Now that it is not politically correct to paddle at school, those younger guys will never know what it's like to get your tail busted by the principal or coach (or any other male teacher for that matter!)
My junior high school was like most other's in the south in the early 1980's. It was an old, Depression era building with a "new" addition dating from the late 1960's. The building had once been the high school, but a new senior high had been built in the '70s. This building had a lot of the things associated with high schools left in it, a large gym and locker rooms, nice science labs and home ec room. It also had what most other schools of the time had - paddles, and lots of them.
Every male teacher had a paddle at this school. Female teachers did not need them, as starting in junior high girls could not be paddled and all paddling was done by the same _s_e_x_ as the one paddled. That meant a male teacher could bust a guy out in the hall during class or send him to the assistant principal. Female teachers had to send you to the office, which worked out better for the teacher. Females could generally not swing a paddle with enough force to inflict any real pain on a southern guy by the time he reached age 12 or 13. It took a real man to adequately blister a guys butt in the South.
The assistant principal had a pretty efficient system of paddling. You waited outside his office door until called in. He briefly outlined your offense, to which you replied in the affirmative that you were guilty. He then admonished you to do better in the future, to which you replied with a respectful "Yes Sir!!" He then instructed you to empty your back pockets, pull your shirt out of your pants, bend over and grab the front edge of his desk. He would then hold your jeans slightly by the back center belt loop, but didn't pull them up too tight. He then proceeded to bust your hind end with his paddle, generally three licks. Sometimes five licks were in order, but the ususal number was three.
The paddle was usually 24 to 36 inches long, about a half inch thick, and made of a light wood, sometimes plywood. This was so it would be very lightweight and easy to swing hard. There were always several holes drilled into the wood, at least 1 8 inch in diameter. These allowed the paddle to smack your butt with maximum force. And man, did it ever in the South!
Our assistant principal was a big man, standing about 6'5" and weighing around 260. Solid muscle. With way more upper body strength than anyone should have. He was a very quite man, never yelled or got upset. He didn't need to. All he needed was his very well-deserved reputation of laying on the most blistering licks in 5 counties to keep the guys in line. As I will recount in later stories, his licks always brought guys up off the floor. He had his swings timed just right to allow the full burning effect to be felt before he would swing again. And as visual examinations later in the day would reveal, he always left quite an "impression", often for days to come!
The gym coach at out school was also a big guy, but not as big as the assistant principal. He was young, only 24, and had gone to this same school a few years before. He even told some stories of our asst. principal busting him at school just 10 years before. Coach must have taken good notes during his trips to the office, because now he was giving legendary paddlings of his own. His advantage, though, was giving licks to guys dressed out for gym in shorts and the obligitory jockstrap. Trips to his locker room were as feared as trips to the office.
As you might imagine, guys at my school took a lot of paddlings. It was, again, a Southern thing. It was expected that you would get busted when you got in trouble, both at home and at school. Once you got your first paddling by either the assistant principal or Coach, you usually didn't get another for a few months. Paddling worked in those days. Offenders were reformed, if only for a month or so. But after a while, the sensation of having your backside blistered faded, and you were up to mischief again. Especially if your friends were encouraging bad behavior - it was hard to go against the crowd. I'll never forgot waiting my turn in the office or the locker room while hearing, and sometimes seeing, by companions in crime being busted hard and knowing I was next. At least we could sniffle together, trying not to bawl, and later on the bus ride home relate the latest story of getting blistered. It made you feel like a man to be able to take a really hard paddling and get to tell everyone about it. Even now, guys I work with will laugh and tell of blistering licks they recieved 15 or 20 years ago. I'm glad and proud to be able to tell my stories, too. It's a fraternity of sorts, at least where I live.
So there you have it, a short introduction to the history of public school life for guys. Like I said, it's a shame guys today don't get their butts busted in school anymore. I will, however, post a few stories of my experiences in the next few months. Stay tuned.