Letters | School violence: Where are the parents?

RE THE complaints about school police being too violent and about the students who walked out of classes to protest this:

These kids have to be kidding. I'm not only a parent of a child in high school, but I also work at the school. My child is no angel, and I was there so many times they offered me a job.

When I heard about the teacher at Germantown High who got his neck broken because he confiscated a student's contraband iPod, I asked myself, where are the parents of these students? I know of no school that would not let a parent visit to see what his child is up to.

And where are the parents of the many troublesome students at West Philadelphia High School?

My biggest complaint is the absence of the parents. Parents, you know your child. Come and see what we, the teachers and staff, have to deal with. I can guarantee you, you will not want to work here. We care, we want every child to get his or her diploma. Parents, please don't be a part of the problem, be part of the solution with this growing epidemic in our schools. Don't wait until your child is in the newspapers or on TV in handcuffs.

Helen Keller, Philadelphia