As Keith would perhaps agree, this is not a happy item.
Education is not being offered as a service, but as a compulsory requirement by the state.
Perhaps "1984" is something we read about and not something we notice in its beginnings.
Perhaps too radical for liberals (who at one time were proudly radical) is the thought that education should not be compulsory.
Also, if students don't obey educational rules - such as doing their homework - they should be kicked out of school.
Parents who, at the moment, can forget their kids during the day, will then be required to take care of them or support them at school. Perhaps give them a needed walloping if they are truculent truants.
Before we start worrying about the troublemakers, think of the good kids, who are the majority of every class. They will be freed from the corrosive effect of those who are responsible for the statistic that one quarter of the teacher's time is spent in discipline.
Harry
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Karen wrote:
School Cracks Down on Parents Tickets Issued When Students Miss Mandatory Program Reuters , Friday, December 13, 2002 HOUSTON, Dec. 12 -- The parents of students at a Houston middle school who tell teachers the dog ate their homework or the cat ripped it up are getting an unusual response: Tell it to the judge. At Houston's North Shore Middle School, the parents of students who habitually fail to complete their homework and miss a mandatory after-school program are being summoned to court, school officials said today. The school this week issued 48 misdemeanor criminal citations, similar in severity to a traffic ticket, to those students' parents. Each ticket, which could have yielded a fine of up to $185, required parents to appear on Wednesday before Harris County Justice of the Peace Mike Parrott. Parrott did not fine anyone, but used the session to set an example and explain the importance of finishing schoolwork, he said. Galena Park Independent School District spokeswoman Staci Stanfield said the tickets actually are for failing to attend the mandatory after-school program for habitual homework offenders. "We are issuing citations because students are not attending school. We are not issuing citations for not doing homework," Stanfield said. Parrott said even though it is a truancy violation being ticketed, the purpose of bringing the charges in conjunction with the after-school program is to make sure students complete their assignments. Students are supposed to finish the missing homework at the after-school session, which is considered part of the regular school day and subject to truancy laws under the Texas Education Code, he said. Students are referred to the program by their teachers. Stanfield said the program, unique to North Shore Middle School, was explained to parents at the start of the school year. Before the citations are issued, parents are supposed to have been notified by letter that their child was required to attend the after-school session. Parrott said a lot of parents did not get the letter because the students were entrusted with taking the notices home. Since Texas school districts are their own separate taxing entities, they have powers not unlike a county or city government, such as the right to issue criminal citations. As for whether he will be issuing fines when cases are referred to him in the future, Parrott said, "There is no doubt, the next time up." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48164-2002Dec12.html
****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
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