In an attempt to curb truancy, Philadelphia Mayor John Street called an assembly with 6000 parents whose children have 8 or more unexcused absences from school. Apparently, 32,000 students are absent from Philadelphia schools on any given day.
As the mayor explained the parents' share in accountability for the problem (and the potential penalties), I was floored as parents rose and walked out on the mayor. Clearly, they're the example of why their children are walking out of school.
As I sat catching flies with my open mouth, I wanted to know: "What would make a parent turn against a mayor trying to ensure an education for their children?" My momentary pleasure at getting an answer disappeared after one mom opened her mouth with a loud, ghetto-fied response:
"If they would make school more interesting, then our kids would want to go!"
I don't know about you, but my mother never cited boredom as an acceptable reason to skip school. ...Which leads me to my main concern: Where has parenting gone???
"There are parents now who are being irresponsible about their children, but they're going to get responsible," Street said. "Some of these parents don't understand the impact that their negligence is having on their child and the impact it is having on our city and our society."
And now to answer my own question:
Where has parenting gone?
According to this tiny cross section, courtesy of truancy in Philadelphia PA:
To hell in a hand-basket loaded with unused school supplies.
Parents have always been regarded as the first players in their childrens education; however, of late that doesn't seem to be happening. With more and more single parents working and siblings are raising siblings, the foundation does not get laid. In addition, many teachers aren't armed with the same disciplinary actions as before and aren't able to reprimand a child as necessary. Children emulate what they see on tv and with no adult supervision bring their drama to school.
Everyone party named is responsible for the education of a child, but with monies being spent elsewhere, resources aren't available in schools. Parents are shunning their duties and many are often uneducated themselves, so they can't begin to fathom the danger their children are in.
The entire situaion is just bad and will only get worse until something drastic happens to save the educational system. Not just in Philly, but nationwide.
Watch the current season of The Wire on HBO and you'll get another perspective on the failure of the educational system.
Posted by: BluJewel | December 05, 2006 at 01:32 PM