posted August 27, 2008
Thank you, Ms. Thurman, for pointing out factors that should be considered in regard to dealing with truancy. You represent the community well.
But I am confused on this one. Is willfully keeping a child out of school until Labor Day, a factor to jail a parent or not to jail?
I also do not understand what happens when a child has no other option but to attend a dangerous school with priority designation that is operated more like a circus, which is an accurate description of several of the high-priority schools. In this case, could one of the factors be that the school board members and county commissioners get jail time for allowing this to occur? Oh no, I forgot some are in jail. If justice is being sought as an educational intervention, this seems reasonable to me.
The majority of children attending the priority schools are simply good kids in bad circumstances called poverty, and exposure to these schools is worse than not attending in some cases. I would withhold a child from these schools without reservation. Do I get jail time for this?
It is very difficult to point the finger at a parent not sending their child to one of the high-priority schools, when the state of Tennessee is publishing on their website that those schools have all the indicators of not being a safe environment.
Al Edmonds
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