Tell me again that we don't live in a police state....

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

President Obama has called upon the states to increase the mandatory school attendance age to 18 or graduation, across the board. Joy.

Leaving aside those kids who do better outside of a traditional classroom; or those who benefit from more focused education but can't get into magnet schools; or those who sadly opt out by suicide because of bullying; or those who cause behavioral disruptions for the students who want to be there; or the sexual assaults, drugs, and criminal activities that run rampant in some areas; or the massive amounts of infrastructure upgrades and repairs to the physical plants; or those who literally find better things to do with their time (the short list) than snooze through homeroom... here's another solution in search of a problem that parents nationwide would have to deal with for an additional couple of years:

Mom handcuffed for tardy kids

Here in Loudoun, VA, I am a the mother of three little girls at an elementary school who was just ARRESTED for getting my girls late to school. After the fifth offense there was a meeting with a truant officer. We were late twice since then, which resulted in the surprise of three officers showing up on this Sat night ( 1.21.2012), where I was literally handcuffed and brought to the Adult Detention Center to meet with the magistrate who chose to release me with a $3,000 bond promised to be paid if I fail to show up for the arraignment in a few days.

Apparently it's not just the kids we need to worry about.

My take: I'm an unschooling parent who was a tow-the-line straight A student in high school. I'm extremely proud that we followed an alternate path with our now-grown son, because I've seen that not everyone is meant for the standard educational experience. While I think there should be some accountability for parents who simply don't give a damn about their kids, what we see more and more are zero-tolerance policies for everything except what actually works for the individual child. I believe that our schools are more like prisons, designed to keep people in when they may want out. Common sense is dead.

And I loved school. Now I know I really loved learning. Whole 'nother ballgame.

ETA Jan 27: I'll just drop this here, then. It's official. Mother Arrested in Apparent Truancy Case

Comments

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I believe that our schools are more like prisons, designed to keep people in when they may want out. Common sense is dead.

The problem is that too many people think that "common sense" involves keeping kids in school more and shoveling more money and effort into the broken school system because the standardized tests tell us we're falling behind the rest of the world.

Until we break that belief cycle, folks like us are fighting an uphill battle.

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

Obama also spoke for NOT teaching towards the standardized tests
but allowing schools to be creative in their teaching approaches.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

The reality narrative is a real game-changer, isn't it?

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Which would mean, if he were serious, that he's already distancing himself from his signature education policy (http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/11/obama_s_race_to_the_top_goes_to_kindergarten_is_standardized_testing_for_5_year_olds_a_good_idea_.html). It's great that he supposedly recognizes the need for educational flexibility, but his context was more in opposition to the fact that we're seeing teachers laid off. This is in spite of consistently increasing education budgets, mind you.

I'll need to see some actual action on reform from him on this, to be blunt. Obama's ideas have been more of the same on education - expansion of top-down educational standards at the expense of real learning. Race to the Top's core curriculum standards are simply an expansion of the NCLB testing mechanisms in a sense, so I'm genuinely curious, assuming Obama actually follows through with this line, what he plans to scale back to make it happen.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Maybe he's trying to drum up some more business for MasterLock?

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

This is your idea of a police state? Not Gitmo, or cell phone GPS surveillance, or any of that... but pushing the mandatory school age up two years?

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's the same reaction when Obama suggested raising taxes on the higher brackets to Clinton presidency levels "OMG SOCIALISM! CLASS WARFARE! HOW DARE YOU!"

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

No, it's the whole "arrest the parent because she got the kids to school late thing goin' on up there. *points*

And frankly, keeping people someplace against their will for eight hours a day under the auspice of "because we can," when at that age they can also be parents -- along with the previous discussion of ticketing and even jailing actual kids for things teachers used to handle within the classroom... yes.

[oportet.livejournal.com]

not everyone is meant for the standard educational experience

You nailed it. I wouldn't say that out loud if you plan on running for public office though.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Those evil German socialists are pretty good at figuring out which students are college material pretty early on in the game, from what I understand.

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

Oh those days of wishful thinking are long gone. I done seen the sausage making and it's not for me.

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

The first thing to know about the American educational system is that there is no American educational system.

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

The second thing is we DON'T TALK about the American educational system.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

We dont live in a police state.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

No, we don't.

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

So don't make your kids late to school in Loudon, VA. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Well it's part of an ongoing effort to make America less free. We're down to 47th on the 'freedom' index. Woops!

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/news/zimbabwe/55818/2011--2012-worldwide-press.html?utm_source=thezim&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=listarticle&utm_content=headinglink

[stef-tm.livejournal.com]

As a scientist and an adjunct professor at a local university I can say this: traditional classroom education is not for all students. Education doesn't stop at age 15, 16, 17, 18 or 40 or 60.

There would be a major change in the economy if we gave emphasis to vocational education. High paying service jobs (plumbing, high voltage electrical.)

How would education change if the stigma of delaying secondary education for life experience and then going to college if and when you are interested. That may happen due to retraining required by globalization.

Personally, I think the mandatory age is more about keeping economically disadvantaged community teenagers in school and off the streets. Effectively, it's a day curfew. It will disproportionately affect the poor and people of color.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

High paying service jobs (plumbing, high voltage electrical.)

No lie. I had a cousin who just did horrible in school. He get into all sorts of trouble as a teenager, drinking, arrested a few times for public disorder. He also married extremely young. Couldn't hold down a job, and couldn't even enlist in the military because of his record. But his parents stood by him though, helped him with food when times got tough. And I remember my mom taking up for him when a lot of people counted him out. "He's going to be a late bloomer." Sure enough, he got a plumbers license and within a year he started a business, and was very successful at it. So successful in fact, he retired by age 50.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

The real telling factor is if it will actually make an impact socio-economically or if it will just serve as an easy excuse for widespread punishment. Unfortunately, getting such results will take a long time.

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

Someone posting on a blog is nothing more than hearsay. I'm skeptical.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Lenore Skenazy is on the front end of the "free range" parenting movement, often on TV and has a book out, and is typically a fairly straight shooter. Some skepticism is warranted, but she's pretty well-known in unschooling circles.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

That area of Virginia is pretty conservative and also very wealthy, suburb of D.C. I checked around on local newspaper and TV websites, nothing comes up on a search. Just shows up on blogs as you say, and all of them are just carrying the original blog entry. I'm suspicious too. And what were conservatives saying when the gay soldier was booed at the Republican presidential debate? Oh, just one or two people doing this doesn't make a general rule. Even if this happened, big deal.

[kardashev.livejournal.com]

Maybe not a full-blown police state where a dictator's agents come and take you away in the dead of night and break your kneecaps for saying the "wrong" thing.

But we're getting there slowly but surely.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

People should stop misusing terms with very clear and evil meanings for cheap political points. There are real examples of police states now and historically, the USA has never met the qualifications at any point in its history. If anything the USA's problem has been an *unwillingness* to enforce its own laws, not overreliance on police. It's also worth noting again that Zero-Tolerance abuses do not a police state make.