[Tamar1973]

Defense attorney Alice Paylor told jurors that the kids heard this same language at home and there was “no magic pill” to make them behave. Paylor is probably right about that, though a magic paddle might have worked wonders.

That's the crux of the problem! The teachers have no authority in the classroom and the children know it.

[Zack Nguyen]

I have been doing a lot of substitute teaching lately, and in my experience the discourtesy, and occasionally outright hostility, is profound. These young people have little or no respect for authority. It is rather shocking after living in the “adult world” where the rules of common courtesy are generally followed.