SCHOOL CLIMATE

By Walter K. "Walt" Ruehlig

Chaos and sound education don't coexist. Sadly, we pick up a newspaper or flick on the t.v. and repeatedly see Antioch schools featured, from a brutal fight at Dallas Ranch Middle School to mob scenes at the Deer Valley Shopping Plaza.

Some teachers are expert in content but dismal failures at classroom management. We need teach best practices, especially to substitutes who get thrown in to the pit.

Some of our teachers have taken classes in restorative justice and say they have seen it work when we make discipline more than punitive but instructive. Let's see be open and see what model WORKS.

Also start with the small things; tardiness, dress code, profanity, food and cell phone violations. The bigger things will fall into place.

This all leads us to defiance, threats and aggression. We simply can not tolerate these acts, for the sake of our kids, our teachers and our community.