Oh, yes, I remember standing for the priest as well, and saying all together in a sing-song voice, "Good morning, Father!". I went to Catholic school 1st through 8th grade. Our nuns were VERY strict, and I do remember beatings with a ruler, although I never got one. It was mostly the "hold out your hand" variety, and you'd get a good rap across the knuckles, God forbid if you pulled your hand away.

The one thing I remember was first grade, and all the nuns were in to-the-floor habits. I guess that summer was Vatican II, and when we went back to school for second grade, they were all wearing the "airline stewardess" variety of habits. After another year or so, they were in street clothes, all except for Sister Mary Phillip. She was about four feet tall, 112 years old, wore the old-fashioned habits until her death, and we were all terrified of her.

However, when I made the transition to public school (and with 50+ kids to a class, btw), I was light years ahead in math in reading. Science not so much, though.