Somebody has been to Hawaii!
Although I went to a public school we had neighbors who had a son and daughter who went to a catholic school, my sister and I were friends with both.You're lucky. My 3rd and 4th grade teacher ( it was a combined class at a Lutheran school) had about 7 rulers rubber banded together. Punishment was you held your hand out, palm up and got the wacking. Took me awhile but I eventually figured out dried Elmers Glue would reduce the sting some.
Funny, I was literally talking about this to my wife a couple days ago. I hadn't thought about Mrs. Keathley in a very long time.
What's barbaric, hitting their hands with a ruler ? Even after transitioning to public schools getting swats from teachers was a thing. The shop teacher at the first junior high I went to was legendary. His paddle, which he made, had holes in it and he swung like he meant it. It hurt 1000 times worse than that ruler on the hand. And if you flinched or jumped before the paddle hit, that swat didn't count and you got another one.Although I went to a public school we had neighbors who had a son and daughter who went to a catholic school, my sister and I were friends with both.
The boy was very rebellious and I remember hearing once how a Nun took a ruler to the boys hand for speaking out in class, she hit him once and on the second swing he grabbed it and took it away from her and literally beat her bloody with it. The police were called and they did nothing.
He was of course expelled and the family moved away.
Someone else I knew that was In the same class said the Nun never returned to teaching.
Personally I can’t understand how a teacher was allowed to do that to a student, very barbaric.