Disciplinary practices in Dallas contrasted with school systems with rules against violence against children*

Origins of filicidal impulses in the American way of life1,2

“…Innumerable investigators have emphasized the irrationality of corporal punishment and have suggested effective, growth-inducing alternatives (ACLU, 1972;Bakan, 1971;Button, 1973;Divoky, 1973;Feshbach, 1973;Feshbach & Feshbach, 1973Hagebak, 1973;Kozol, 1967;Maurer, 1973Maurer, ,1974Meier, 1976;NEA, 1972;Skinner, 1976;Valusek, 1974;Welsh, 1976aWelsh, , 1976b. Despite evidence and research-based recommendations, corporal punishment against children continues in the schools.…”

Aggression in the schools: Toward reducing ethnic conflict and enhancing ethnic understanding.

“…It is of interest that an analysis of stateby-state statistics yielded a significant positive correlation between the frequency of corporal punishment administered in schools and the frequency of students dropping out of school (Maurer & Wallerstein, 1987). It has been suggested that the degree to which a school system is willing to employ corporal punishment is a reflection of the degree of violence toward children that is present in a community (Hagebak, 1973). These observations, of course, do not provide substantive empirical support for the hypothesized ineffectiveness of corporal punishment or the suggestion that it is a manifestation of aggression.…”