Guys had to bend forward at the waste, as did the girls...but the girls also had to pull their skirts tight across their rear, so their petticoats couldn’t overly soften the whack(s). 1957-60, 6th-8th grades.
The paddle was 3/4” varnished plywood, with rows of regularly spaced 1/2” holes drilled in it. It was inscribed, “Pray for fast legs, and a slow teacher!”
“Assume the position” had an entirely different meaning back then/there. *<];-’)
Corporal punishment existed in Chicago public elementary schools in the 1940s, although perhaps not officially sanctioned. Paddles were not used but books were slammed on heads, rulers slapped on hands, ears pulled, heads held by the chin pushed against blackboards (which really were black),and occasionally, mouths washed with soap.