Corporal punishment is considered one of the most ancient types of human responsibility for misconduct. Ancient people did not yet know such a science as pedagogy, and there was no criminal law as such. By beating it was possible to punish the offender, the thief, just a hated person. Corporal punishment should be divided into self-harmful - mutilation of human organs or their amputation, for example, cutting off hands, feet, gouging eyes, tearing nostrils and lips, castration; painful - delivering pain by beating with rods, a whip, a stick (in ancient times, pillory pillars were common, to which they tied the offender and flogged with rods); shaming - this type of corporal punishment differed from others in that the infliction of pain faded into the background. The main goal was to disgrace the person.
Corporal punishment at school
The world probably does not know a country that would practice corporal punishment in school more than England. Even in medieval schools, beating children was the main punishment among teachers. Students who come to schoolimmediately faced with a beating. Founded in 1440, Eton College, whose teachers practiced severe beatings, even raised money to buy rods. Parents rented half a guinea in addition to studying, so that educational tools were purchased for children.
The director of the college in 1534-1543, Nicholas Udall was famous for his cruelty among students. It turns out that he got sexual pleasure by beating children. Corporal punishment was carried out not only because of their own anger or the irrepressible temper of the teachers, but because of the generally accepted rod. They replaced the then pedagogy, they were a popularly accepted method of education.
One day, during the plague, students at Eton College were told to smoke to protect themselves from the disease. One student was severely beaten for disobedience (not smoking). The sadistic director Yudall was fired for his violent behavior towards students, but he did not sit unemployed for a long time. Soon Nicholas Udall headed another equally popular college - Westminster.
The director of Eton College in 1809-1834, John Keith, achieved excellent discipline with the help of corporal punishment. The children perceived the beating no longer as a shameful mockery of the teachers, but as a punishment for an unsuccessful attempt to deceive the elders. The children accepted Keith's corporal punishment with honor, some boys even bragging about it to their classmates.
In every yard where the disciples lived, there was a place for beatings. The boys took off their pants and shorts, climbed the scaffold, stoodwith their knees on the steps, and with their stomachs they lay down on a log. In this position, there was enough space for beating, so the blows hit not only the fifth point.
History of corporal punishment
In the ancient Greek and Roman state, corporal punishment was applied only to slaves.
They could be beaten, killed, changed, because their life was worth nothing in those days. The history of corporal punishment in Russia reached its peak during the era of serfdom. Defenseless people were tortured for the slightest mistake, or even for no reason at all, if the nobleman was not in the mood. The Russian writer A. N. Radishchev was categorically against corporal punishment, because the equality of all before the law should accompany a civilized society. In response to him, Prince M. M. Shcherbatov expressed his opinion on this issue. He said that corporal punishment should not be completely abolished, but that it should be applied only to serfs and ordinary citizens, but not to nobles.
