Former Teachers' and Pupils' Autobiographical Accounts of Punishment in Italian Rural Primary Schools during Fascism

Despite the prohibition on punishment in the form of emotional, psychological and physical abuse under the Fascist school regulations, it was common--particularly in Italian rural classrooms--for the purpose of managing and disciplining students. Sticks, "chickpeas" or "donkey desks" represent just a few examples of the methods frequently used by teachers to control unruly pupils. These punishments are often recalled by teachers and students in several published and unpublished discourses. This essay, by viewing such memoirs retrospectively, aims to provide a new understanding of the disciplinary practices carried out during 1920-1940 within Fascist Italian schools located in two different rural areas and to investigate the ways in which teachers and pupils look back on this particular aspect of their past.