Dangerous Schools: What We Can Do about the Physical and Emotional Abuse of Our Children Hardcover - 1999

First line

Whack! Smack! The long arcing swing of the paddle ended abruptly against her behind.

From the rear cover

More than 50 percent of children will eventually experience some level of physical or emotional maltreatment at school. Disciplinary measures, such as paddling, verbal assaults, strip searches, massive drug screening, and confinement, are not only emotionally and physically damaging, they undermine the very institution they claim to protect. Dangerous Schools reveals the multitude of offenses-all in the name of discipline-perpetrated by school boards, administrators, teachers, coaches, and other officials in schools throughout the country. More important, it gives parents and educators a much-needed blueprint for school reform.

In this eye-opening expos� of institutional abuse, Irwin Hyman and Pamela Snook uncover officially authorized violence that far exceeds the number of offenses committed by students. These little researched, frequently ignored practices, the authors passionately argue, are an insidious danger to students' mental health and undermine and distort their understanding and belief in constitutional rights. Parents will learn how to distinguish between normal rules for safety and a violation of students' rights. The authors provide parents with a checklist-including how to document abuse, determine responsibility, file charges, instigate litigation, generate publicity when necessary-and step-by-step strategies for dealing with educational and legal issues, including a broad agenda for legislative and public advocacy.

Through a synthesis of clinical and developmental research, case studies, theory, and constitutional analysis, Dangerous Schools promotes positive disciplinary techniques of prevention and remediation. It also shows parents and educators how to recognize illegal and unethical practices in their own system, galvanizing all Americans toward political action.

What's Going On in Our Children's Schools?

From the inner city to the suburbs, thousands of schoolchildren are being systematically subjected to mandatory classroom policies which inflict both physical and emotional harm. Hundreds of school officials from across the country have been found guilty of sexual harassment, the illegal use of undercover agents, strip searches, corporal punishment, verbal abuse, punitive isolation, and other forms of institutional abuse. In Dangerous Schools, Professor Irwin Hyman and Pamela Snook, passionate advocates against the institutional maltreatment of children, reveal exactly what is going on in our nation's schools and what we must do about it.

"This book makes a strong argument against school abuses and offers clear and proven strategies for change. It will appeal to parents who suspect that their children have been maltreated by educators and for advocates who desire a blueprint for social change."
--James Garbarino, codirector, Family Life Development Center, Cornell University; author, What Children Can Tell Us

"Dangerous Schools is a welcome antidote to the politics of "zero tolerance" that grip so many schools today. By combining passionate advocacy with anecdotal and scientific observations, the authors show how authoritarian practices like strip searches, undercover operations, and corporal punishment can extinguish our children's sense of security, freedom, and justice. A must read for all those who care about what is going on in our schools today."
--Loren Siegel, director of public education, American Civil Liberties Union

"A passionate and relatively practical contribution for parents and educators who are concerned about disciplinary abuses of students in some public schools."
--Perry A. Zirkel, Iacocca professor of education, Lehigh University

From the jacket flap

More than 50 percent of children will eventually experience some level of physical or emotional maltreatment at school. Disciplinary measures, such as paddling, verbal assaults, strip searches, massive drug screening, and confinement, are not only emotionally and physically damaging, they undermine the very institution they claim to protect. Dangerous Schools reveals the multitude of offenses-all in the name of discipline-perpetrated by school boards, administrators, teachers, coaches, and other officials in schools throughout the country. More important, it gives parents and educators a much-needed blueprint for school reform.

In this eye-opening expos� of institutional abuse, Irwin Hyman and Pamela Snook uncover officially authorized violence that far exceeds the number of offenses committed by students. These little researched, frequently ignored practices, the authors passionately argue, are an insidious danger to students' mental health and undermine and distort their understanding and belief in constitutional rights. Parents will learn how to distinguish between normal rules for safety and a violation of students' rights. The authors provide parents with a checklist-including how to document abuse, determine responsibility, file charges, instigate litigation, generate publicity when necessary-and step-by-step strategies for dealing with educational and legal issues, including a broad agenda for legislative and public advocacy.

Through a synthesis of clinical and developmental research, case studies, theory, and constitutional analysis, Dangerous Schools promotes positive disciplinary techniques of prevention and remediation. It also shows parents and educators how to recognize illegal and unethical practices in their own system, galvanizing all Americans toward political action.

What's Going On in Our Children's Schools?

From the inner city to the suburbs, thousands of schoolchildren are being systematically subjected to mandatory classroom policies which inflict both physical and emotional harm. Hundreds of school officials from across the country have been found guilty of sexual harassment, the illegal use of undercover agents, strip searches, corporal punishment, verbal abuse, punitive isolation, and other forms of institutional abuse. In Dangerous Schools, Professor Irwin Hyman and Pamela Snook, passionate advocates against the institutional maltreatment of children, reveal exactly what is going on in our nation's schools and what we must do about it.

"This book makes a strong argument against school abuses and offers clear and proven strategies for change. It will appeal to parents who suspect that their children have been maltreated by educators and for advocates who desire a blueprint for social change."
--James Garbarino, codirector, Family Life Development Center, Cornell University; author, What Children Can Tell Us

"Dangerous Schools is a welcome antidote to the politics of "zero tolerance" that grip so many schools today. By combining passionate advocacy with anecdotal and scientific observations, the authors show how authoritarian practices like strip searches, undercover operations, and corporal punishment can extinguish our children's sense of security, freedom, and justice. A must read for all those who care about what is going on in our schools today."
--Loren Siegel, director of public education, American Civil Liberties Union

"A passionate and relatively practical contribution for parents and educators who are concerned about disciplinary abuses of students in some public schools."
--Perry A. Zirkel, Iacocca professor of education, Lehigh University

Media reviews

Citations

• Booklist, 08/01/1999, Page 1997
• Library Journal, 07/01/1999, Page 109
• Publishers Weekly, 07/12/1999, Page 87