Danny Kaye writes:  "We had woodwork all through high school
starting at 11 (6th grade?) but no metalwork."

This reminds me of an incident during a metalwork class I attended
at Randwick High School in Sydney, Australia when I was a
student there back in the 1950s.

We were making ash trays (politically incorrect today) from thick
sheet copper by using a wooden bossing mallet to beat the copper
into a hardwood former.  The copper work hardened under this
process and from time to time had to be annealed by heating to a 
dull red and then quenching by plunging it into water.

A certain student, as a joke, judiciously held his heated job by the 
sleeve of his dustcoat and handed it to the metalwork teacher 
asking innocently if his job was progressing satisfactorily.

The teacher, as you can imagine, immediately dropped the hot ash
tray and in one continuous follow through, punched the boy under 
the chin sending him flying through the air and hitting the wall.  The 
boy then slid down the wall and hit the floor.

The boy, of course, deserved this treatment; it taught him a lesson
but can you imagine what would happen to a teacher today if he
conducted this summary punishment ?

Cheers,
       Clynt
Sydney, Australia 

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