But the brutally harsh reality is that a kid who chronically skips
out of class has already lost his or her work ethic.
It takes a work ethic to study for tests, do homework, and turn in
assignments. That requires effort and discipline to accomplish all
of those things and if a kid doesn’t have any kind of work ethic,
then that stuff isn’t going to get done.
Furthermore, just having someone sit in a classroom doesn’t mean
that he or she will pass. If the student doesn’t want to exert any
effort, then what is the purpose of being in class anyway?
Regrettably, the quality of our education has already been so
watered down that the whole thing is rigged in which it almost takes
“effort” for a kid to fail. Nearly all problem students are enrolled
in “math for boneheads” as well as many other similar classes
designed for low expectations so it doesn’t take much mental
capacity to pass them. In addition, there is very little homework
assigned because teachers have also accepted the dismal reality that
most problem kids won’t do any of it. Instead, assignments are often
done in class which means less time for teaching.
Also for many schools, it is impossible to receive a very low score
or even a zero for tests and assignments because it automatically
gets bumped into a 50. So doing absolutely nothing or just putting a
name on a piece of paper entitles a student to receive credit for
half of the work that was never done (imagine if your employer was
that generous). The purpose is to allow these kids to still pass
while doing the least amount of work necessary and that is why a
huge number of dropouts were actually passing their classes when
they stopped going to school.
The claim is often made that even if the valedictorian fails the
standardized test, he or she will not obtain a diploma. Well,
standardized tests are also designed to accommodate the lowest
common denominator of knowledge, much like the regurgitation of
“science for boneheads” and the very basics of other subjects.
So in other words, our politicians and bureaucrats have made our
curriculums ridiculously easy to pass.
Yet, every year there are millions of teenagers who refuse to exert
even the very minimum of effort.
So
far the consequences have been awful. There are millions of people
in our workforce who have extremely limited reading and writing
abilities. They are also unable to perform tasks of medium
complexity. Accordingly, these kinds of severe restrictions prevent
them from getting better employment. And if they have a lousy or
non-existent work ethic, then they aren’t going to go very far in
any kind of job they get.
In a nutshell, society has to do more than just get a kid back in
a classroom; the student has to be transformed into a totally
different kind of person who is willing to do homework, study for
tests, and turn in assignments. It also means no more staying up at
all hours of the evening on school nights, the excessive partying,
and all the other factors that prevent the focus on an education
such as alcohol and drug use, getting pregnant or fathering babies,
etc.
However, that requires structure with rules and boundaries to manage
a social life. Additionally, showing up to class, studying for
tests, doing homework, and turning in assignments also requires a
structure with rules and boundaries. And only parents or legal
guardians can provide that.
The bottom line is that when the social fabric known as the family
has collapsed, then there isn’t anyone teaching children
responsibility and a work ethic. These concepts come from a value
system yet there are many parents who don’t have any values (except
the bad ones) to impart to their offspring. And then there are legal
guardians who feel that the extent of their role is only to provide
food, shelter, and clothing and that’s it. They feel that they are
under absolutely no obligation to provide any guidance or structure
so these kids operate under no rules or boundaries.
If
we want our wayward children to stay in school, they are going to
need to learn responsibility and obtain a work ethic.
Getting a high school diploma is not rocket science but
responsibility and a work ethic may very well be for the kids who
have lived under no parental influence for their entire lives. And
that is why our educational leadership must understand that they are
fighting the wrong battle if they only focus on stopping truancy.
The real problem is that the lives of the children who skip
school and that of their parents or legal guardians have to
dramatically change. Until these cultural issues are directly faced,
our school districts will continue to be plagued with incessant
truancy that will never end.
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