Monday letters: Parents to blame for unruly children

In her March 9 letter, “Stop the school-to-prison pipeline for black girls,” Shirley McClerkin-Motley omitted the home, the first and most important place for keeping teens out of prison. The home is the place where obedience and respect for authority should be taught. Then schools could teach academics.

I taught children of five different races and many shades. Race or color did not change the learning process. Attitude did. Parents of the children I taught were very helpful. I loved their children.

Some actions that are not violent are still crimes. Theft is a crime. The girl at Spring Valley was stealing the opportunity for learning from her classmates. She was stealing teaching time from the teacher and defrauding the taxpayers who built the school.

That girl belonged in the Academy at Blythewood. Keep the rules. Support the teachers.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 4:52 AM with the headline "Monday letters: Parents to blame for unruly children."