Because violence in schools, although nothing new, is worsening, it has become an object of concern for all those involved or affected by the problem, particularly in public schools. It is a problem that cannot be analyzed in separation from the society surrounding the school where violence occurs, but each school should be seen as a specifi c case, with its own characteristics. This article raises this issue, relating it directly to Brazilian cultural and political heritage, through a selective history of the development of the education system, in an attempt to understand how the form of denial of access to citizenship can cause the lack of ties between the individual and society and the school to prevent the individual from perceiving him/ herself as a full citizen.