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When I was in CE1, the teacher had invented a singular punishment: rather than sending the dissipated children to the corner, she ordered them to go “in the niche”, that is to say under his desk, really between his legs. We had plenty of time to observe these comrades relegated to the skirts of the mistress – overwhelmingly boys – since the desk was on the stage, at the height of our children’s eyes. They spent part of the morning there, discreetly continuing their undermining business through grimaces and other antics from the “kennel”. If the purpose of the maneuver was de-excitement, it had failed. Sometimes also, when the stupidity was considered serious, the teacher resorted to spanking without pants in front of the class. (I specify that it was a public school, thirty-five years ago.)
Today, it seems to me unheard of that no parent of a student complained at the time of what clearly amounted to humiliation, and which would henceforth be punished by law (spanking has been banned since 2019). Perhaps there have been complaints of which I have not been informed. This testifies, in any case, to the extraordinary evolution of the relationship to the physical integrity of children, but also to punishment.
I know that my daughter’s teacher, herself in third grade, excludes those who are too turbulent from her classroom. They stay in front of the door the time they have understood that their actions bothered the collective. Contrary to the “niche”, it seems to me that it is a sound and reasoned interpretation of the famous “At the corner! », the alpha and omega of generations of teachers and parents.
A symbolic chair
In English-speaking countries, the corner is a method theorized under the name of ” time out – in French, “dead time”. Parents will easily find explanatory guides online for its implementation, step by step: warn the child that he is going to be punished; punish him if he does not stop, by putting him on a chair symbolizing the time out for a given time; do not speak to him during this period; extend this period if he descends from his chair; end the punishment; make sure he understands what is at stake. In the United States, where the science of parenting has been institutionalized for decades, we go so far as to specify the number of minutes of exclusion according to age. In France, where one can still hope, from time to time, to be related in an empirical and approximate way, the “corner” is subject to various interpretations of place, denomination and duration (“Shall we take the opportunity to have a drink while we’re quiet?” Come on ! »).
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