ABC and 123 Six years old and terrified, my palms were sweating and my anxious eyes shifted from the clock to the doorknob as I sat in the principal’s office awaiting for Mr. Jeffery to come inside and deal me my punishment. I was enrolled at a very strict Catholic school that believed in reprimanding students with a paddle. I was sent to the principle’s office because I had not eaten all of my peas during lunch, and the rule was everything must be gone from your plate before you can go outside. It had been an unlucky day, in my mind the lunch lady must have known I despised peas. Therefore I watched as she put an extra helping onto my plate. Feeling rebellious, I threw my lunch away and headed outside, but someone must have seen my act of disobedience and ratted me out. I was not outside for more than three minutes when I was called back inside and sent to the office. I immediately started crying because I knew my fate. The three foot long wooden paddle would be kissing my bottom in a matter of minutes. Was physical punishment really necessary? Through his novel David Copperfield, Charles Dickens presents different types of education and the effects it has on young David . He experiences many styles of learning and the atmospheres that go along with it. He is exposed to the kind and patient teaching of his mother, the harshness of the Murdstones and the strict demeanor of the boarding school. All of which good and bad, help prepare Copperfield for his future. Education was as important in the 19th century as it is today. Home-schooling and boarding schools were extremely common. However, only those wealthy enough received an education during the time period in which Dicken’s novel was written. Prior to 1870, there were no rules or laws governing school syllabus or teacher conduct. Hence, many schools taught by forcing the students to recite mindlessly