"Scribner and Warnick’s historical account show how various conceptions of school punishment can become distorted when unmoored from the social context of the school and picked up by the ideological winds that surround it... They make a case for school punishment that is as rationally persuasive as it is intuitively appealing. It stands to advance the conversation about the ethics of school discipline in the public sphere. It’s also an argument that the educational community could benefit from engaging with, as well, and would be welcome reading for any ethics and education course."

Theory and Research in Education

"This volume is suitable for any citizen concerned with the state of public schools and is especially useful for graduate courses in school law or the history of education. Recommended."

Choice

“Spare the Rod offers a sweeping overview of how and why we have punished in school, and the authors make a compelling and practical case for how we can do better.”

Judith Kafka, Baruch College

“School punishment is an attempt to get young people to behave according to social norms and values. This sharp and engaging book offers a history of how we try, and fail, to do so fairly, as well as a path toward more effective and just ways of building moral community. An essential read for teachers and researchers who care about democracy and justice, and about making them possible in school.”

Sigal Ben-Porath, University of Pennsylvania

"Campbell Scribner and Bryan Warnick, both university professors, have done an excellent job of researching their topic. They carefully document what were common practices and the underlying rationale for keeping order in schools. They summarize the detrimental effects of punishment up to and including contemporary tactics. In what is a bit unusual, they present opinions on both sides of the issue — a tribute to the fact, they say, that 19 states still allow corporal punishment."

Art Stellar | School Administrator Magazine