I am hearing all this talk about violence in our schools. In all the work I have done as a master teaching artist in schools throughout the state, I have never been in a violent school. The school culture is not one of violence. The school culture is one of tolerance and acceptance.

The violence is in our society, and that is pushing into our schools. We need to take a strong look at our society and at our intolerance and how we treat each other. Maybe by holding society accountable we may change for the better. Instead of wording this as a "schools" problem, let us see it for what it is.