Ask any group of veteran teachers what's been the most striking change in American schools over the past 25 years, and they'll say, the enormous increase in violence and disruption. Of course there have always been youngsters who misbehaved. What's new and shocking is the breakdown of order in the schools. The kids who come with guns -- and sometimes use them. The classrooms where teachers spend their time trying to contain youngsters who yell obscenities when another student volunteers to answer a question. It's true that the violent and disruptive kids are only a small percentage of the whole -- perhaps 5 percent -- but they are putting at risk the education of the other 95 percent.

As I said in last week's column, our schools are very tolerant of outrageous behavior. Chances are good that youngsters caught carrying a weapon will be suspended. But chances are also good that they'll be back in a short time -- ready to take up where they left off. And little if anything ever happens to the kids who only destroy other students' opportunity to learn by turning the classroom into a zoo.

Why do we put up with this? Partly because many education experts maintain that these troubled kids are not responsible for their actions. They are victims of society's injustice, and if we don't we keep them in class and in school, we are jeopardizing their right to an education. The trouble with this approach is that it disregards the rights of the 95 percent who want to learn -- or might if they had a chance. We need to provide violent and disruptive kids with an education -- if they are willing to take it -- in alternative settings, where they will not destroy the education of others. But our primary concern should be the safety and well-being of the majority of students.

Polls show that parents, both white and African-American, are outraged by the current state of affairs. And in some districts, teachers, who also say they have had enough, are joining with other community members to take back the schools. This will not be an easy job, but here are some of the things that are being advocated

  • Clear and rigorous discipline codes that are strictly enforced. Existing
    codes are often fuzzy and open to interpretation. A good code makes a
    direct connection between behavior and consequences -- if vou hit somebody, this is what will happen. And it must be enforced to the letter. Otherwise, some children will be punished more severely than others, and the code will be open to charges of unfairness. There must be no question that a kid was punished because somebody didn't like the color of his or her skin: The same rules must apply to all.
  • State legislation requiring school districts to establish and enforce these codes. A code is only good if it is enforced. Some school administrators are afraid that reports of violence will damage their reputation, so they ignore such reports or even penalize teachers who make them. A good state law would deal with this problem by including penalties for failing to enforce a district code as well as provisions requiring full and honest reporting of code violations.
  • Revised legal procedures. School administrators hesitate to take a student to court because the process is time consuming and expensive. Also, in a curious way, it seems stacked in favor of the student. You have this lone child up against what looks like an unforgiving adult world, and the judge is likely to say, "Why not give the kid another chance?" But what if the kid's 25 classmates or their parents were allowed to come to court and tell their side of the story? Giving the court an opportunity to hear the side of the youngsters whose education has been hurt by a violent or disruptive child would redress the balance a little.
  • A school-based arbitration process. Arbitration is a quick and inexpensive way of settling disputes. Standards -- guidelines about what is open to arbitration -- are established, and both sides present their case to an independent arbitrator. The decision that is made generally stands up in court. Why shouldn't schools set up an arbitration procedure, where the rights of the disruptive students are taken into account but the rights of the rest of the class to an education are paramount? This separate school judicial system could handle many of the problems that never get to court under the current system.

But if we are to make our schools safe and orderly, parents must also get involved. Parents of violent or disruptive students often show up to plead for their child. However, few parents of the 95 percent who want to learn ever step forward to demand safe and orderly schools for their kids. There is no question about the clout they would have if they rose up and told school boards what they have already told public opinion polls -- that they have had enough.