> Neither instance caused any psychological damage
Really now? I would consider acute fear to be, at the very least, psychologically detrimental, if not to you then to the vast majority of people. Generally, fear is not conducive to a healthy learning environment.
a) that corporal punishment is the only or only effective way to ensure nobody or at least less students have to fear other peers b) corporal punishment is any effective at all c) the necessity to fear some peers has a strong connection to whether they are 'controllable'
All three claims seem to be disputed.
Parents are notoriously shitty people.