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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMarshawn Wolley’s recent Forefront column [State must set high bar for minority student attainment, March 8] was mis-named.
It should have read “State must set high bar for black student’s attainment.” Latino and Asian achievement records are as high or higher than white students.
Nurturing from birth to age 4 is of utmost importance. Neglected kids become disruptors and dropouts once their hormones start running. The answer is a zero-tolerance attitude that should be adopted by all schools for kids who are troublemakers, disrupt class and start fights in the school. I spoke to a friend whose daughter recently witnessed three fights in Eastwood Elementary School. These thugs should be kicked out. OK, maybe we’d lose one or two troublemakers, but the other kids would learn the lesson of zero tolerance.
It’s not the schools or teachers who are the problem; it is a subset of kids who are out of control. It is not the teacher’s job to do what their parents should have done. Nor is it the job of taxpayers to fund endless programs to solve this unsolvable problem.
These unruly kids ruin the environment for learning and frustrate teachers and administrators who seem to be in an endless revolving door in and out of our public schools. Enforce a zero-tolerance program for disruption, truancy and fighting and within a year or two, and the rest of the students will feel comfortable to learn and attain.
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Steven Pettinga
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