Hyman, Irwin A(Braham Meltzer) 1935-2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 22, 1935, in Neptune, NJ; died February 7, 2005, in Philadelphia, PA. Psychologist, educator, and author. Hyman was a psychology professor at Temple University who was nationally known for his campaign for children's rights and against the use of corporal punishment. He received his B.A. from the University of Maine in 1958, and then attended Rutgers University, where he completed an M.Ed. in 1961 and an Ed.D. in 1964. Hyman worked as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey from 1957 until 1961, and then as a school psychologist until 1966. After a year as chief of clinical services at the American Institute of Mental Studies, he entered academia. A year as a professor of special education at Newark State College was followed by a position with the Temple faculty as an associate professor. He would remain at Temple for the rest of his life, becoming a full professor of school psychology in 1977 and directing the National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment and Alternatives in Their Schools. He also had his own private practice on the side. Through his teaching, research, and writing, Hyman made clear his beliefs that physical punishment of children, whether in the school or at home, is wrong, does more harm psychologically to children than other disciplinary methods, and also just did not work as a way of changing children's behavior for the better. Much in demand on talk shows and as an expert in courtroom cases around the country, Hyman was as well known to the public as he was to his colleagues. He was editor or author of a number of influential books in his field, including Corporal Punishment in American Education: Readings in History and Practice (1979), which he edited, Reading, Writing, and the Hickory Stick: The Appalling Story of Physical and Psychological Abuse in American Schools (1990), The Case against Spanking: How to Discipline Your Child without Hitting (1997), and Dangerous Schools: What We Can Do about the Physical and Emotional Abuse of Our Children (1999). Recognized with such honors as the Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Science and Profession of Psychology from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association in 1999 and the Legends in School Psychology Award from the National Association of School Psychologists in 2002, Hyman was most recently involved in researching the problem of bullying in schools.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chronicle of Higher Education, March 4, 2005, p. A41.

ONLINE

Temple Times Online, http://www.temple.edu/temple_times/ (February 17, 2005).