theres always been bullies in schools.
thats why we have discipline in schools (detention, suspension, explusion).
Allan
How well is that working out?
Homeshcooling may or may not be the solution but
school discpline as a very very serious problem in many districts.
No I am not advocating “blame the teachers”
I am advocating
- don’t lie to ourselves, pretending the problem is solved
- enact strict tracking polices, end social promtion, embrace standardized tests
- openly endorse charter schools vouchers, school choice homeschooling etc.
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my niece teaches in a bilingual charter school here in NYC, so i am all for that.
Allan
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This question does not follow school district guidelines with respect to feelings or LGBTUVWXYZ
inclusion. 
I would want someone who can do the job, I don’t have to like them, they don’t have to like me, we have a job to do, period. I RARELY hung out with coworker’s away from the office, I was there to do a job, not expand my social circle.
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Bullying has always been a problem in schools and is now more prevalent in females. The boys, unless they are sports playing type A personalities, are wretched pasty looking lacking no upper body strength basement dwellers. I went to school mid ‘50’s graduating HS in 1969. I have three younger brothers. Our youngest brother was gett a hard way to go by some stronzo at school. Our Dad, a WWII , vet and an amateur boxer in his day told us to take care of this chooch or we would be having to deal with him. So my brothers and I cornered this punk and his crew and beat the ■■■■ out of all of them. The bully’s old man came to our house and Dad walked out to the street. No fight but the old bully decided he might be in over his head? 
Our younger brother didn’t have any more problems.
Too bad bullying can’t be resolved like it was in the good old days. 
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my experience is different, you can teach people a job,
a lot harder teaching them social skills.
Allan
You cannot teach people the job if it involves reading, writing and/or 'rithmatic if the person doesn’t know how to read, write or do math.
Social skills are inherent to the human species. Being raised among only a few people doesn’t retard a person’s ability to get along with others. In fact, it teaches self-reliance which is a strong attribute in the workplace. On the other hand, being around hordes of other people also exposes one to the worst of society which can easily jade an outgoing spirit and cause a person to distrust others. All in all, the mixed society of teenagers in public middle and high schools is potentially one of the most psyche damaging environments one could imagine.
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to work for ATT you must take (and pass) a BAT test,
so you already have the basic skills, you can easily train employees.
Allan
PIVOTING TO A NEW THREAD RELATED TOPIC:
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There are educational outcome disparities
- between black and white
- betwen rich and the poor
- between 1-parent and 2-parent
etc.
That said, I am a former teacher from a family of teaachers and I do not think I have ever read a disparity this large, (unless someone cooks the results):
“A Black Mississippi child is two and a half times as likely to be proficient in reading by fourth grade as a Black California child.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/opinion/red-states-good-schools.html
The difference appears to me that Mississippi has enacted a series of “conservative” educational reforms
Note
28% reading-proficient x 2.5 = 70% reading-proficient
(70% is still pretty low)
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That’s what we’re talking about … basic skills … the 3Rs … reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic.
Don’t they have to be able to read to take the test?
that is correct. weed out the dumb and useless.
saves on training costs.
Allan
Which proves my point. Thank you.
Well here we are. School administrators and teachers encouraging truancy. I thought contributing to the delinquency of minors was a crime? Nothing like preying on imbeciles with mush for brains that cannot pass grade level proficiency tests. LOL this country doesn’t have a public education system. We have an indoctrination problem.
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Clearly the indoctrination of America’s youth does indeed take precedence of honestly educating them:
And this is a big problem: Kids are being used as pawns and weaponized against federal agents, as we saw in downtown LA on Friday, when a mob of students attacked officers –– some swinging poles –– and again on Saturday, when students again assaulted officers and one teen was shot when a gun went off.
Students are protesting and even rioting during school hours, instead of completing lessons.
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That’s OK. I’ve heard if we just throw more money at the districts and pay these teachers more, the students will learn how to read and do math. 
That is a fascinating piece.
I also was struck by the section you highlighted.
Reflecting on my own public school district, which is a very high performing district, I think the kids that struggle are essentially in a different school, one that is chronically understaffed.
I also appreciate the author’s pushback against vouchers in the face of these achievements.
I hope (and I’m quite sure I’ll be disappointed here) people that matter are paying attention to this information.
For a very long time the US had a surplus of K-6 teachers
and a surplus of 7-12 outside math and science.
Today . . . . we have a universal shortage of teachers.
It’s a hard and often thankless job.
The current teacher shortage can be compared to a many-headed hydra.
But yes, “hard” and “thankless” are two of the heads.