Submitted by Henry Overal,
1941-1946, Delta
There seems to be a measure of difference between
the SGS experiences of 'older' Old Boys and 'newer' Old Boys. I have
found some of the 'newer' Old Boy e-mail traffic to be of interest
since I can learn a little of what SGS was like not so long ago. I
have put together a little of what it was like back in the SGS 'dark
ages'....it may be of interest:
In the 40s the school was monolithic.......with the exception of
the headmaster's secretary all the staff, all the students, all the
grunts were male.....all were white Caucasian..........with the exception
of a Jew all were Christian. These are not statements of pride or
regret, it was just the way it was.
Study topics were essentially predetermined, no electives allowed.
Home work was assigned five times a week, each time for four subjects,
forty five minutes for each subject....a little demanding! Acceptance
to the school was by examination ( the 11+). There was a whiff of
elitism and a feeling of being properly prepared for life success.
As mentioned previously, there was no meaningful teacher cruelty or
sexual aggression. Teachers always wore cap and gown, students always
stood up when a teacher entered a classroom.....a structure that gave
a good underpinning for later life.
Corporal punishment was real and immediate......cheek pinching, ruler
rapping of fingers and, by the headmaster, caning on the backside.
However, it seemed fair to all of us......if you screwed up and were
caught, you were punished....Q.E.D. One did not mention any punishment
to parents so as to avoid another dose from them.
A darker side related to school floggings, two of which occurred
during my time. One related to theft from the gym changing room, the
other for wrong behaviour to a younger sister ( this was for non school
related behaviour!!). The canings were witnessed by the staff and
students (the whole school) and the punished permanently expelled.
It was hoped that all would learn from the happenings. In fact, both
boys did well in later life.
Nowadays, an environment that included frequent
bombing, loss ond wounding of family and friends, Dickens-ish schools
and, for most
of us, marginal nutrition would call for a group of eager social workers
to descend to ease trauma and repair self esteem (and all of the other
social worker blather and clap-trap)........in the event, we all got
on with our lives.
I feel that there is a real disconnect between
the various Old Boys. It's easy to sneer that the old farts are
I.T. challenged and not
'with it'.......it's easy to sneer that the younger Boys are shallow
and lack common basic values......but we are all products of the same
great school, and sharing experiences should strengthen our bonds.
I, for one, want to know more about the day-to-day school experiences
of later students.
September 2004
© The OCA and copyright owners 2004
Last
Site maintenance:
Site launched: August 20th, 2004
Feedback: The OCA WebMaster
Registered under the Data Protection Act 1998: Reg No. z1850776
|
