Dangerous Schools

Introduction. Physical Maltreatment in the Classroom. Psychological Maltreatment in the Classroom. Attacks on Children's Sense of Justice and Democracy. Drugs, Dogs, and Discipline: Double Messages in the Schoolhouse. Mortality, Sex, and Censorship. Toxic Punishments, Laws, and Litigation. Taking A Stand: What to Do If Your Child Is Maltreated in School. Taking Action: Understanding the Playing Field and How to Make it Even. How Can Schools Be Democratic and Stop Maltreatment?

IRWIN A. HYMAN, Ed.D., is a professor of school psychology and the director of the National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment and Alternatives, Temple University. A distinguished researcher and passionate academic, clinical, and legal advocate for an And to the institutional mistreatment of children, he is the author of numerous books and articles including The Case Against Spanking. PAMELA A. SNOOK R.N., M.S.N., coauthor of the My Worst School Experience Scales, is a psychiatric nurse and clinical specialist who has worked with a wide variety of victimized children. She is a doctoral student in school psychology at Temple University.

"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)