6 ms·

Roald Dahl's childhood biography Boy describes the incredible abuse he went through at Repton and an Old British primary school. Caning was a common punishment,

Roald Dahl's childhood biography Boy describes the incredible abuse he went through at Repton and an Old British primary school. Caning was a common punishment, love was never present, and fagging was an evil practice in which older boys were deputized to treat younger boys as slaves. There's a reason Dahl's fictional books so frequently feature kids getting revenge/justice against big bad adults (or giants, in the case of Sofie in The BFG). Boarding schools for minors are generally bad, IMO. My parents both went to (and one also taught at) boarding schools in the US. By their accounts, such schools tend to attract perverted or power-hungry maladjusted adults who enjoy the kind of power over others that can only be had at such institutions.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
Is this still pretty much the case or are you aware of changes? My wife went to a boarding school for the last 3 years of high school (late 90's) and it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for her. [edit] I went to college at a military-style school and I recall that there was an explicit prohibition against Personal Servitude. We always wondered what happened in the past to make that a rule that everyone knew about.
- madaxe_again 4y ago
  In the U.K., the final change was around the turn of the millennium - it happened while I was there - we were the “lucky” ones who were brutalised but never permitted to brutalise in our turn. Actually, I am grateful for that as I find it hard enough to live with myself as it is. There’s also a profound difference in what it does to you when you start at six versus sixteen - many of the old etonians cited went through the preparatory school system, as did I.
- TimTheTinker 4y ago
  This was in the late 1960s through late 1970s (so quite a while ago), and I don't have any more recent info.
jefftk 4y ago
And Dahl was one of the luckier ones, a child of relatively rich parents. Compare to Orwell's seriously darker experience as a scholarship student: https://www.george-orwell.org/Such,_Such_Were_The_Joys/0.html https://www.george-orwell.org/Such,_Such_Were_The_Joys/0.htm...
HarryHirsch 4y ago
Roald Dahl also recounts that he was considered insufficiently brutal by the higher-ups and that that was regrettable, considering his other qualities. He never was advanced to prefect.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

Is this still pretty much the case or are you aware of changes? My wife went to a boarding school for the last 3 years of high school (late 90's) and it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for her. [edit] I went to college at a military-style school and I recall that there was an explicit prohibition against Personal Servitude. We always wondered what happened in the past to make that a rule that everyone knew about.

madaxe_again 4y ago
In the U.K., the final change was around the turn of the millennium - it happened while I was there - we were the “lucky” ones who were brutalised but never permitted to brutalise in our turn. Actually, I am grateful for that as I find it hard enough to live with myself as it is. There’s also a profound difference in what it does to you when you start at six versus sixteen - many of the old etonians cited went through the preparatory school system, as did I.
TimTheTinker 4y ago
This was in the late 1960s through late 1970s (so quite a while ago), and I don't have any more recent info.

jefftk 4y ago

And Dahl was one of the luckier ones, a child of relatively rich parents. Compare to Orwell's seriously darker experience as a scholarship student: https://www.george-orwell.org/Such,_Such_Were_The_Joys/0.html https://www.george-orwell.org/Such,_Such_Were_The_Joys/0.htm...

HarryHirsch 4y ago

Roald Dahl also recounts that he was considered insufficiently brutal by the higher-ups and that that was regrettable, considering his other qualities. He never was advanced to prefect.