Editor’s note: About three years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Walters [real name] at a family gathering, where she was a guest of another member of my family. It turned out that Miss Walters had spent many years in teaching, rising to headmistress at several primary schools in the north of England. As you can imagine, I was keen to turn the conversation towards the topic of corporal punishment. The interview that follows is based on contemporaneous notes I made shortly after I got home that day – which in turn remained lost until a recent clear-out!
When did you go into teaching?