ISLAND VOICES
Ruthless students must be stopped

Joyce Choy is a Hawai'i public school teacher.

In the middle of my first year of teaching, I realize my safety and well-being on campus are jeopardized every day when I enter the classroom to try to teach a fruitful lesson to my students.

What's the serious problem? Ruthless students are posing a serious threat to teachers, other students, security and administrators.

These students commit such offenses as assault, burglary, possession of dangerous weapons, instruments or fire-arms and illicit substances, extortion, property damage, robbery or "hijacking," sexual offenses and terroristic threatening.

Trying to apprehend these ruthless students shouldn't be a challenging task, but it is. Why?

The keywords are "lawsuit" and "liability."

I can safely assume that everyone is afraid of being sued or being liable because of improperly handling ruthless students. Unfortunately, even ruthless students perhaps may have rights, too. However, they do not have the rights to cause any kind of harm or distress to others, especially in a public place.

Gov. Linda Lingle, in the Jan. 23 article "Charter-school plan costs $23M," acknowledges the fact that regular public schools have discipline problems. She also explains that " ... teachers should receive support from school administrators when they (teachers) try to remove disruptive students from the classroom." Class A offenses extend far beyond "trying" to remove a student from a classroom. What is the solution to this serious problem?

These ruthless students are outsmarting teachers, administrators and security. We cannot solve the problem by physical means. That is just a lawsuit waiting to happen and jobs put on the line.

We need to have and emphasize school safety standards students must abide by. There is an extreme emphasis on curriculum standards. There should also be an extreme emphasis on safety standards. Severe disciplinary actions also must be taken.

Parents also need to get involved in watching out for their child's safety and well-being. However, I have to admit that not all parents can control their children. Some parents don't even care.

Students need to understand that for every action there is a reaction. For every negative action there is a negative reaction. The consequences can be very serious or even deadly.