A Catholic-School Veteran Tells All

I have scars on my knuckles from the 1st grade on because I dared to be left-handed (not a choice, I know now). I saw a nun slam a kid's head into the blackboard until blood trickled into the chalk tray. I didn't go to Catholic high school & haven't been to church since 8th grade graduation. It was abuse, plain & simple, but we were told catastrophic consequences would rain down on our unfortunate heads if we divulged what went on in "Sister's room."

Wow, David, what a whiner. I also attended catholic schools in the 60's. I had nuns for teachers and they were not afraid to use discipline. Yeah I got smacked plenty of times. And I deserved it plenty of times too. The nuns, though extremely strict, were fair. Everyone was expected to behave and you were there to learn. In this time of rampant bullying in schools, so severe that some children are driven to suicide, I long for teachers that can actually have control over the self-absorbed kids parents are parading out into society. NO BULLY would have had a chance against the nuns that taught me. And by the way since you're throwing dirt at a relatively easy target these days (not so original David), let me point out that I attended catholic schools in the South - before integration took hold. That catholic school in town was the only school that allowed anybody to attend. And it was these same, tough as nails nuns, that stood up to the threats of a large portion of the white community and refused to back down. These same nuns were even threatened with a ???cross-burning??? on the convent lawn ??? still, they didn???t back down. As a result, many, many of the black families in the town, (almost exclusively non Catholics) sent their kids to the catholic schools where they were able to get excellent educations and were expected to by the nuns to achieve at as high a level as anyone else. This was something that was not afforded to them by the public schools of the day. The public schools expected they were capable of less??? But these tough nuns would have none of that. And yes, these same families stood behind the high standards of discipline too. Already being part of a minority in the South they understood already that life was hard. And an education would be the main course to change that.
So David, in our current "enlightened" society where so many parents thinks their child is gifted and deserves never to be held accountable for inappropriate behavior because it may squelch their creativity..... Wake up. Education is difficult and takes hard work - as is being an adult in our society. And those same children that are indulged by their communities often prove to be a real pain for the rest of us when they grow up and can't figure out why everything doesn't go their way. You may hate the nuns..... But then again, I'll bet you paid attention in school. And now, during these tough economic times, you have an enviable job working for NEWSWEEK.
So David, who exactly taught you to read and write? Next time, a simple ???thank you??? will do.

Awesome! Growing up I had the Dominican nuns and brothers, as well as the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. Remember those "clackers"? How about how the nuns were capable of whipping out a pair of scissors from somewhere deep within their frocks? Yeah, we all got knocked around a bit and at my grammer school it was the "strap" that really got our attention. Yep...pants down and whack!

I have scars on my knuckles beginning from the 1st grade when I dared to be left-handed. I saw a nun hit a kid's head against a blackboard so hard that blood trickled into the tray. I did not attend a Catholic high school (8 years was enough) & haven't been back to church since 8th grade graduation. It was abuse but the nuns described catastrophic consequences to any who dared breathe a word of it outside the classroom.

I am surprised after all these years that this subject has not been written about more. I was a Catholic School veteran of 12 years, as there was not kindergarten then. I started first grade at the age of 5, absolutely terrified at those women in the black robes. My memories not only include slapping, but pulling hair, shaking, and humiliating tactics such as dumping out your desk or not allowing you to go to the bathroom. After I graduated, I vowed never to send my child to a Catholic school and i stuck by it.

I think the nuns get a bad rap. Today, Catholic schools (like the public schools) have undisciplined kids and inept teachers. Many of the lay teachers don't even know the basics of their faith, and the parents are spending huge amounts of money for their childrens' secular and religious education. The nuns knew their faith and the subjects they were assigned to teach. They were dedicated to education and instilling a sense of discipline in their classrooms. I understand abuse may have occured, but I think that most of the people who complain are cry babies who will complain about anything now-a-days. The lack of nuns in our Catholic school system is the reason that many schools are closing today and children are not getting a genuine Catholic education that once was very much admired.

When I was in first grade, the nun made us all close our eyes and she went up and down the aisle hitting the kids she didn't like in the face with a ruler. When I could hear her next to me I grimaced and she laugh then passed me by. I was her favorite. After that incident and watching her spank a kid in front of the class until he got sick, I did not want to be her favorite anymore.

I am a lefty who was forced to write as a righty the only year I attended school in Mississippi back in 1972, as a first grader. When my parents moved to TN, half way through my first grade year, I could move back to my natural hand without wearing the arm ponytail (hand tied behind my back). Sh!t happens in public schools, too.

I think the nuns get a bad rap. After seeing the disrespect for teachers and lack of discipline that exists in both our public and Catholic schools today, I have a great respect for the order the sisters kept in their classrooms. The lay people teaching in the Catholic schools today don't even know the basic tenets of Catholicism and can't keep their students in line. I know there may have been some true abuse, but I think alot of you that complain are just cry babies.

It is disgusting how the catholic church operates. There is nothing in the bible that mentions anything about a nice godless place newborns spend their time if they were not baptized. The wrath of God is waiting for the catholic church she has always prostituted her self since their begining and will soon be destroyed by the very same governments she vehemently supports.

To a large degree, I think, corporal punishment was an attempt by clergy, who were highly intimidated by the perceived high status of English "public" (actually exclusively private) schools, to recreate the English "public" school environment. I remember, when I was in 7th grade, that the sisters had invited teachers visiting from England to review our contingent of student school crossing guards, consisting entirely of 7th grade boys. In English "public" schools, caning (disciplining students by beating them with a cane) has been a tradition for centuries. Having long been a colony of England, Irish schools, especially Irish Catholic schools were under the direct scrutiny and control of the English government which even hand-picked the staff of instructors at Irish Catholic Seminaries for centuries at Maynooth, when they were allowed to operate at all.
Later in life, when I was delivered into the tender care of Marine Corps DI's (drill instructors), I thought to myself "This is no threat at all. I've been through this all before with the the good sisters."

When I later worked as a substitue math teacher at a public high school that my mother had previously attended, I was appalled, but not surprised at the almost chaotic behavior of students there. I had been hired to replace an older Jewish lady who had been "burned out" by the bad behavior of her students. It wasn't quite at the level of the 1950's movie "Blackboard Jungle", but it was close. I quickly realized that public school students had no concept of discipline, obedience or order and I felt like a member of an elite group having been given a quality education that they never would receive. My term of service was originally as a temporary substitute. But when the poor older lady I replaced decided to extend her temporary absence for rest into full retirement, I was offered the position as a permanent teacher. I decided that a career in the technical field as an engineer, my original plan, was the much better choice. American schools need and deserve a better atmosphere of discipline in which teachers can actually teach instead of roping and coralling mavericks.

I too remember being the victim of such punishment and witnessing it happen ot others. It was a style of teaching through intimidation and humiliation. It either broke you or you were able to overcome it with a scar on your spirit.
I attended 9 years of Catholic school and 3 years of a public high school.
I remember one year in particular, the 6th grade. Sr Philomena hit students daily. It could have been because of a wrong answer or squeeking the chalk on the chalkboard. She would blame us when she got sick and daily call us "crazy devils." I remember one personal incident when we were writing Christmas letters to our parents. She wanted a variety of ways to end the letter. I was about the 3rd student to go up to the board and write my suggestion. I wrote "your loving daughter" and in parenthesis I wrote "son," so the boys could feel free to interject that. Well, I was the only one who did that. It enraged Sister. She screamed at me "Do you not know if you are a girl or a boy?" She grabbed the top of my jumper at the waist and threw me over the desk and as she went to pull me up she ripped my uniform. Now there was proof. She wanted me to stay so she could sew it, but I had to walk home my younger siblings. My mom heard the whole story, but never said a word. She just sewed my dress. Towards the end of that particular year our pastor, who himself was a scary, mean man who seemed to only speak with a loud voice, came in to our class, shut the door and asked us if Sr. Philomena had ever hit any of us. Like typical abused kids we said no we were too afraid of her. There were some nuns who never hit, but almost all were into humiliation and intimidation. My brother also had a year from hell with Sr. Gaudenta. I don't think he has ever recovered. She had him convinced that he was less than and deserved nothing.
I am now the mom of 4 great kids 2 grad student and 2 undergrads, and what those years taught me is exactly what NOT to do!!!
My kids are respectful, compassionate, and driven to service. I always saw "A pleasure to have in class" on all their report cards. My two oldest graduated Summa *** laude as will their sister this year, and no one even had to lift a hand to them to achieve that>
I applaud your article ,and you are right. My classmates and I are bonded in a way like children I have read about who live through war.
Thank you for writing it.

Different perceptions, hell. What this is is a person taking advantage of the fact that they write for a living to effuse hypersensitive feelings publicly rather than in the privacy of their therapist's office, where this belongs.

Different perceptions, hell. What this is is a person taking advantage of the fact that they write for a living to effuse hypersensitive feelings publicly rather than in the privacy of their therapist's office, where this belongs.

Different perceptions, hell. What this is is a person taking advantage of the fact that they write for a living to effuse hypersensitive feelings publicly rather than in the privacy of their therapist's office, where this belongs.

Different perceptions, hell. What this is is a person taking advantage of the fact that they write for a living to effuse hypersensitive feelings publicly rather than in the privacy of their therapist's office, where this belongs.

Different perceptions, hell. What this is is a person taking advantage of the fact that they write for a living to effuse hypersensitive feelings publicly rather than in the privacy of their therapist's office, where this belongs.