Racial Tension in Schools
Racial tensions are reaching a boiling point in the schools. Blacks, Latinos, Asians and whites are all fearful and resentful of each other. So they pick on the nerds, dweebs and small classmates. I know this sounds like a joke, but the small, funny-looking kids fear for their lives at some of our schools. They are a new minority and they are being abused. You can smack a nerd and not be racist.
The real issue is violence on the campus. I think our kids can live with tension; they can’t live safely with violence. The schools can’t control it. It’s far easier for the educators to deny that there is a problem.
You can’t force kids to be nice to one another. But we do have to find a disciplinary measure with some teeth in it to apply to the kids who are beating up people. Suspension is just a free day to some of these teen-agers. Maybe we should keep them on campus and make them (oh, what a bummer) work.
STEPHANIE GOODMAN-TAYLOR, Los Alamitos
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.