That's pretty much the way I remember it back during the late 50s and 60s. 1966 we made Liquid Nitro in chemistry, turned it into Dynamite, and blew up a big rock bluff that the school needed to have removed for a new band bldg. Got my behind kicked litterally by more than one teacher for small infractions.
Seventh Grade, one of my Dad's best friends growing up (Ruby) was my Health and Science teacher. Ruby had also baby sat me when I was small for Mom and Dad. Now I was the biggest kid in the entire seventh grade. Here I was already 5'11" or 6', and she was everybit of 5'4". First day the class was being loud and playing around when the bell rang, and Ruby knew she had to do something to get control of this disruptive group. Now I had not seen her since I was a little guy and had no memory of her, and did not know who she was. Suddenly She yelled out my name. Room was shocked because she knew someone and no one had introduced themselves yet. I slouched up to the front of the room, stood in front of her desk and said "Yes mam, what do you want" snickering all the time. Ruby got up, grabbed her chair and drug it out in front of the desk. She sat down in it. In a very loud voice so everyone could hear she said, "I paddled your butt when you were only this long". And she held out her hands to indicate a small person. "And I can still do it". Ruby reached up grabbing the front of my shirt and jerked. Now we had hardwood floors in that class room, and the custodian had just swept the room out with sweeping compound and the floor was slick. I was wearing well worn leather soled shoes, and not expecting such action. My feet went out from under me and I fell right across her lap. Ruby reached around and grabbed her paddle off the front corner of her desk, and busted my behind five good licks. Ruby had been, and still was a softball player and had an arm on her. Man my rear was burning, and I was squirming. Then Ruby dumped me out onto that slick floor, and I spralled out flat on my face. Ruby stood up, put her foot in the middle of my back and held me down. She took that paddle and pointed it at the room, then she moved it from one side to the other to make sure she had everyones attention. Then in a loud and commanding voice she said "He's the biggest one of the lot, and you see what I can do". "Now if anyone else wants a piece of the action, I can accomadate you". Ruby had the best behaved classes in that school. Word got around and no body messed with Ms Ruby Givens. I had to whup two ot three guys to get my status back in that class. I even got ridiquiled by the town barber the next time I went in for a haircut, in front of a bunch of adults. I did not know then he was her husband.
Guess Michelle and I was lucky with Sky. He got into trouble at Day Care for chewing his crackers into the shape of a gun and shooting his classmates. I blew it off and told the director how stupid she was. Here we sit on an Army Post and all these kids parents carry a gun everyday. They have older Brothers and sisters that emulate Mom and Dad, in front of the little ones. You're not going to stop it so don't even try. A few weeks later she resigned and moved on. No other problems untill he was in 6th grade and called one of the Teachers a BXXXX. The principal call me in but had a hard time stopping laughing. He had a real hard time being serious, unfortunately for him he agreeded with the kid. Then once while in High School I got a call because his truck was seen busting through a snow bank to take a short cut out of the student parking lot. I laughed as I told the Asst Principal Sky was in Canada that week and I was the driver of the truck. I had come to the school to pick-up the neighbors kids.
Now for the real problem. When Sky was born it was noted in his records he had a Brandywine Stain type birth mark on his right side. When we were in DC, he and another little boy had a duel in the bathroom, in front of the toilets. Imagine sword fighting with those little streams. Well the staff had to change their clothes. The Birthmark was mistaken for a bruise. No one bothered to look in the kids records where the Birthmark was listed, they just called the Cops. Cops took the kid to the Clinic on base, and a Doctor agreeded in his openion it was a bruise. The Cops came to DIA (Where I worked) and read me my rights, arrested and handcuffed me in the front lobby. They then took me to the Clinic, where they had already picked up his Mom as well from the JAG office. They had not told her anything about what was going on. As I was excorted into the Clinic I saw a Colonel that I knew from shooting skeet, I asked him to accompany us in what ever was going on. The Cops tried to tell him it was none of his business. He informed them he was the Clinic Commander and everything that happened in that clinic was his business. We all went into the Examination room where the Doctor made the accusation I had bruised my child. The Colonel leaned over and asked if I had hit Sky, I told him it was a birthmark and that it was in his medical records. The Commander took charge and asked if anyone had looked at the kids medical records. They admitted they had not, but the Major (Doctor) had said he knew what a bruise looked like. The records were pulled and on the first page there was a drawing of a new born with a big birth mark drawn on the right side. I was released, and recieved a letter of appology from the Director of Day Care, The director of Services on Base, from the Clinic Commander, and from the Base Commander. The director of Day Care and the Doctor both recieved a letter of Repromand for not looking in the childs records first.
