Discipline in the school system

About 7 months ago I got back from living in Taiwan. I lived there for a year as an English teacher. I loved my time in Taiwan. I learned a lot as a teacher and a person. I noticed that there are a lot of differences between the school systems in America and those of Asia.
One thing I noticed is the discipline system. Here in America, not a whole lot happens to a child who gets into trouble. They either get written up because they did something bad, they have to sit in detention for about an hour or if they do something extremely bad, they might have to stay home for awhile. I remember that detention in my school was having to sit in a classroom for half an hour during lunch time. How terrible is that? I remember being late for class once and so I got detention. I had to sit for half an hour and then got to go eat lunch still. I think that is a ridiculous punishment. I really don't think punishment like that is going to change many people's behaviors. I know that I didn't care much for having to sit in detention. I don't feel like we should resort to something like corporal punishment, but our discipline system is not changing students' behaviors.
Some teachers still practice corporal punishment on the students in Taiwan. My boss had a stick that she would use to hit the students' hands if they were in trouble. I hated seeing my students get hit or seeing the welts on their hands afterwards. It made me hurt for them, even if they were doing something they shouldn't. I hated the use of 'the stick.' I don't think that hitting students is a good way of punishment for students. I feel like it makes the students afraid to do or say anything.
I did like however that students knew their boundaries and they didn't dare cross those boundaries. Most of the time, the students were very well behaved and they showed respect for their elders. I think that students in America need to have that same attitude. They should know their boundaries and know the consequences if they try to do something they shouldn't. Have respect for their elders is also an important aspect for them to have.

What are some good ways that the schools of America can adapt to better discipline their students?