This is in response to the article about Lewiston High School having a “huge” problem with student behavior (Dec. 17).

The solution chosen by the principal and accepted by the School Board is to apply more of the teachers’ precious talents and limited time to dealing with the misbehaving students.

The School Board’s accepted solution is to hire two deans to instruct teachers on how to deal with misbehaving students. Teachers would then deal with those problem students. The results — misbehaving students get more of the teachers’ time while students who want to learn get less.

Is that really the answer?

Sure, there are teachable students with issues that need to be given special assistance. But for those students who simply misbehave and disrupt a learning environment — dismiss them from disrupting the classrooms so teachers can do what they were hired to do — instruct — not necessarily be a counselor or disciplinarian. Those added responsibilities are taking the teachers’ time away from those who want to learn.

Why not establish a mandatory after-school class for those young adults to attend? Require their parents or guardians to attend with them, to witness and maintain behavior control while they are making up the missed class time. And, by the way, those classes should not be free. The disruptive student should pay for those extra classes.

Someone has to take responsibility for those students and I do not believe it should be the teachers and students who want to learn.

Leroy Fournier, Lewiston

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