Yeah that's bullshit! I can't believe a teacher would do that. I'll bet you never snuck your lunch during class again though! But that shit DID happen, all the time! I had some pretty sadistic teachers growing up in the'80s and it was just as bad from hockey and baseball coaches. People were just way harder back then and society somehow just accepted it. I was actually bullied by my Cub Scout troop leader of all people, a woman! I think I still carry a lot of the damage I took to my confidence and self image from my early years. I'm now 45 and a father of 2 boys (4 and 5) and I do my very best to be as patient and kind as I can and nurture them to help protect that delicate confidence as long as possible. I'd never strike or spank them either because I'm the product of that and it definitely doesn't do one good. Being hit by the people whose job it is to protect you does so much damage to the psyche. I hope you don't carry the weight of that incident with you still because to me it sounds like it could have been one of those core memories that can truly affect a person's personality over the long term. I'm also relieved to hear that your classmates were there to support you as I also had a lot more empathy and compassion among my schoolmates as well and I think it's because we all had similar home experiences around that age.