English Comp II Task 2
As young children, most of us are transported to school via the school bus, our parents, or even a friend's parents. We think nothing of it, and this becomes our norm. We develop a sense that going to school is what I'm supposed to do. As we grow older and enter our teen years, we gain autonomy. In many cases, our parents are off to work before we even wake up. At that turning point, it becomes our responsibility to ensure we get ourselves to school. However, what happens when that teenager decides to skip class that day? Even more so, what happens when that same child decides to miss multiple days of school? Truancy, by definition, is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is an absence caused by students of their own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical conditions. In most states, truancy laws are in effect to help prevent this behavior. Despite this, truancy laws are ineffective because they don't always punish the individual responsible for the truant behavior nor address the root cause of the absent behavior. These two facts invalidate the point of the policy as a whole.
Let's first examine what happens when a child's school attendance has become truant. This leads the school and, ultimately, the state to issue punishments for this behavior. However, nine times out of 10, these punishments are aimed at the parents and include things ranging from paying a fine to jail time. When we begin our school careers as young children, Its the responsibility of our parents to ensure we get to and from school, but there comes the point where the child becomes independent and can consciously make their own decisions. The average age of a truant student is 15 (Longe, 2011). This age is pivotal for most kids as they become more independent and make their own choices. A parent can guide their child and even give instructions, but for the most part, the parent doesn't accompany the child during the school day. The child ultimately determines what the child does after they leave the house. These policies lean towards an expectation that parents have to monitor their children 24/7; this is not a reasonable expectation. Almost half of all truant children live in single-mother households. Then nearly 50%...
