Teaching respect

THE article about the late Michael Kidson, the Eton history teacher ( Mail) who taught many wellknown figures, including David Cameron, brought back memories of my old French teacher at St Michael’s College, Hitchin, Herts, in the Fifties.

He was a tall, hawk-like figure who, at the slightest perceived misdemeanour from any pupil, would deal them a swift blow (or three) around the ear with a well-aimed flat of the hand or drag them around the classroom by a tightly-gripped earlobe.

If he was writing at the blackboard and heard a disturbance or ill-timed comment from the class, he would spin around on his heels and, with his gown flying, propel the wooden blackboard duster (or, if he was feeling generous, a lump of chalk) towards the offending desk. It was amusing to see 30 desk lids instantly raised in protection.

Despite all this, he was one of the most respected masters.

If we saw him outside school hours and greeted him by raising our caps and saying ‘Good afternoon, sir’, he’d react in a shy, almost embarrassed, manner. Yes, he was strict, but we were all fond of him. SPENCER BROTHERTON,

Eye, Cambs.