When considering violence in Milwaukee Public Schools, I find myself recalling a School Board meeting years ago where the discussion centered on rising suspension rates. One mother demanded that School Board members explain why her 15-year-old African-American son kept getting kicked out of school for misbehaving. "I can't do anything with him at home," she complained. After the meeting, I interviewed the mother away from the microphones. That's where she told me why she thought her son kept getting expelled. "They afraid of him," she said of the teachers. "He's 15, but he's 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs...
