Restore teachers’ authority

For a large segment of K-12 pupils, the education system in America is broken. There are, in my opinion, two primary things that must be repaired for the system to be mended.

1. The classroom must be returned to the teacher. The teacher must be allowed to exercise authority in maintaining discipline. Legislation should be passed at the state and/or federal level that protects the teacher from a lawsuit in the exercise of what a reasonable teacher would use in exercising discipline. One unruly student can ruin the classroom atmosphere that allows effective learning to take place.

2. The practice of passing pupils from one grade to the next, regardless of mastery of subject matter, must stop. Why are we surprised at the high dropout rate? Eventually, students who have received social promotions reach a point where they are incapable of learning the material to which they are exposed, so they drop out.

Throwing more money at the problem is not the answer.

I am not surprised that the recent ballot measure alluding to this problem failed.

Gene Sivertson

Spokane