Your child didn't go to school - you go to jail, ....plus kids quitting school..
By fritz_hailey
@fritz_hailey (1334)
United States
December 20, 2006 12:35am CST
Last school year, Kimberly Niedzielski's son, Jacob, missed most of the school days he was scheduled to attend......
......."I have a 16-year-old who legally quit school when he turned 16," Niedzielski said. "(The) case should have been closed.
Thoughts on this one?
- Do you think they had a case? If it's legal for a 16 year old to quit school then it shouldn't really be the parents fault, right?
- Does the case make any difference to you that his dad has been in a coma for 3 years?
- Would you support your child in quitting school? Of course most of us wouldn't, but what would you do if they were of legal age to quit and said they were quitting?
1 person likes this
19 responses
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
20 Dec 06
In the US students can legally drop out of school after they turn 16 (for the most part). My mother did it back in the 60s. My husband did it in the 90s without ever having attended high school. He had failed 6th and 8th grade and when he failed the 8th grade again he quit. He was already 16 by then. There is procedure, though. They can't just stop going to school--that is truancy and the parents can be held accountable but if they sign all the paperwork they are free to go. They are trying to have that changed to 18, I think. Most kids graduate school at 18 unless they have failed grades. My husband would have been forced to endure another year of 8th grade and then a year of 9th before he would have been allowed to quit if that was the law.
Anyway--I would be very disappointed if my child chose to quit high school but I would support them in all their choices and they better have good reasonings and a plan in place if they quit. And they would be getting a full time job once they stopped going to school.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
20 Dec 06
Actually our school system stinks. The schools are failung our kids every where. My grand kids are being taught less than I was 50 years ago. They are taught to pass those test that make the schools look good. ths SATs and so forth. When they get to college they are not prepared the way they shold be.
When a kid reaches a certain age the parents can not really do any thing with them if the chld choses to not listen. Just what can yo do with a 15 year old that choses to not atted school.
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
20 Dec 06
deebomb--I agree. The school suck in the US, for the most part. They teach a test and that is it. Of course, not every school is that bad but those people with the least amount and the most chance of dropping out usually go to the worst schools. There was a point in my life that I almost left school. I went to a very good Catholic school and my parents were paying quite a bit (back then it was a lot) to send me there. But it was getting bad. I had no friends and some of the other students were so mean. I told my mom when I was sophomore and had turned 16 that I wanted to quit, that I couldn't take it anymore.
She told me to try to finish, that it would be best for me. I knew that but at the time I was so depressed I didn't want to go to school anymore. She told me that if I finished out the year and still wanted to quit I could do it if I promised to get my GED right afterwards and get a job. In the end I stuck out the year and things got better. I made some good friends and the rest of my time in high school was fun. I would encourage my kids to finish but if they hated it that much what could I do? Most of what you learn in high school you can learn on your own by just studying at a library. The real learning in high school is social stuff which isn't all good and usually causes more trouble then anything. I'd rather my kids drop out and study on their own then have to deal with some of the moronic stuff going on in schools.
@makemoney24 (11)
• United States
20 Dec 06
I'm curious as to what state allows a minor to legally quit school at the age of 16 unless they were expelled, which is another society problem in itself.
There is no way I would allow a child of mine to quit school at the age of 16. Education is so important to be successful in today's society. With out even a highschool diploma, it wil be difficult to find suitable employment. The employment a person would find would most likely be minimum wage jobs.
If the person takes a trade that would be something different. But he/she woudl defininitely need to seek alternative solutions to further his education.
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
21 Dec 06
Compulsory age for school in Illinois is 7-16. You don't have to send your child to school until they are 7 and they can stop once they turn 16.
@krizz420 (4385)
• Canada
20 Dec 06
Nothing would make me support my childs decisions to drop out. I dropped out a year before I was done and it was the stupidest thing I ever done so theres no way I could support it. If they where legal age to drop out then Id be kicking them out or making them work. Here in Canada its 18 to drop out in most schools so Im pretty safe with my kids here. I know now that school could have helped me get alot futher then I have in life so I want my kids to avoid doing what I did when it came to school.
@linda345 (2661)
• Canada
20 Dec 06
I don't know about it being 18 as the legal age to drop out in Canada. I know this is the age that reports and missed classes no longer have to be reported to the parents. My son dropped out of school when he was 16. I think it was more a decision on the high schools part for his lack of attendance. He was in with the wrong crowd, his choice not anyone elses. I would get him up every morning for school. He would leave and I would go to work. Every night I would get a recorded message from the school that he had either missed most or all of his classes. I hope in the future he will go to an adult learning school and get his high school or get his GED. No, I didn't support the decision for him to drop out of school but the principal said to me I had made every attempt that was possible to keep him in school. I had attended meetings with the principal alone, with him and my son, nothing worked. He is 19 now, so hopefully he will soon decide to get his high school.
@mkup30 (494)
• United States
20 Dec 06
school systems stink - I have an MBA and I wish so much that I had dropped out of school when i was 16 and gotten my GED. I now own my own profitable and successful business that I could have started yrs ago w/o wasting time in college and grad school. you can learn anything you want from reading on your own and gaining practical knowledge from jobs and successful business people. You can be born with a business mind school teaches you crap theory that doesnt help in the real world...sorry to say but school is just a cheap babysitter
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
20 Dec 06
So if your parents both work, how are you to learn to read? Pick up a book and figure it out??
I think school is important. I realize that a lot of it you don't use later in life..but you use what you learned that had to do with your career. I teach English, so I learned from the English classes classes I took; otherwise, I wouldn't know grammar in order to teach it to my students, who DESPERATELY need to learn it. So there are ups and downs to education. But essentially, K-8 curriculum, I feel, is necessary.
@onesiobhan (1327)
• Canada
20 Dec 06
I dropped out when I turned 16. So did both of my sisters. We all ended up going back because we didn't want to work at MacDonald's for the rest of our lives.
My youngest sister stopped going when she was 13 - my mother would take her to school, and then as soon as my mother left my sister would walk right back out again. One day a truant officer came to the house. He told my mother she could go to jail if she couldn't make my sister go to school. My mother said, "I make her go to school. The school can't keep her there."
Sometimes it's a choice between standing guard over the kid 24 hours a day or going to work and being able to feed it. There are limits to what a parent can do.
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
20 Dec 06
In that situation, the problem is definitely the school. We keep close tabs on our kids. No one leaves without a pass; if anyone sees a students in the hall, we ask for a pass. Attendance is taken EVERY period and children are searched for immediately if a child is absent in 2nd period that was present in 1st period. Schools can get in a lot of trouble for kids just leaving like that!
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
20 Dec 06
I feel it is Wrong to jail a Mom who has a 16 yr. old who does not want to attend School anymore. If you tend to be a Bad guy in everything and force a child especially at 16 to do things, you are only asking for many problems later. I feel if a child wants to quit, then let them, and hope in the future they will see their ills, and either go back to school, or get a GED so they can be something Great in life.
@scottology (1208)
•
21 Dec 06
if they want to quit they should have their life terminated as they are a waste of a body and it will cost us more money to keep such lazy people on benefits
@_hope_ (3902)
• Australia
20 Dec 06
i`m lucky in that respect that all mine will finish school they stey in school until they get an apprentice ship which in turn give them a reasonable future .THOSE THAT HAVE LEFT SCHOOL WE ARE THEE SUPPORTING THEM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
@harsh1985 (593)
• India
21 Dec 06
i will not tolerate that my son refuse to attend the school..
in india.....there is no such type of law which makes able to child that he can quit the school whenever he want... here education upto 10th is complsory...
why jacob not intrested to attend the school??i think he don't know the importance of education.might be he get misguided by somebody....then this is responsibility of perents to explain the importance of education..
16 edge is not age to understand the responsibily of himself.........but when he grown up....he will realize it can't do anything because life can't re-take.
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
20 Dec 06
Well, personally, I think if your child doesn't care enough to even finish high school, then he/she is clearly beyong your control anyway. If you have control of your children, they won't quit school. No, it makes no difference that his dad was in a coma. If his dad is in a coma in the hospital, then clearly he wasn't pulling the son out of school himself to miss all of those days. If Mrs. Niedzielski had control over her child at home, he would have not missed so many days, nor would he have been so eager to drop out of school.
@BulletsMama (221)
• United States
21 Dec 06
This would make a difference depending on the childs home situation. If there were certain circumstances as the childs father in a coma the mother should have spoken to the school and told them what was going on. Giving them a heads up would let the school take steps so the child did not fall behind.
As for children quitting school at the age of 16...I personally would fight tooth and nail for my child NOT to do this....there may be quite a war here at home but I would still take it on. Now a days especially they need an education.
@1212121212 (122)
• India
21 Dec 06
There are a large percent of children in my place who don't go to school. I don't see any legal action being taken against their parents. Is it a global rule that it is illegal if the students don't attend school??
@asifthuglife12 (61)
• India
20 Dec 06
ya but whahtever it is, i would say never give on the education
@kawillow74 (1416)
• United States
20 Dec 06
gee what state is she from here you have to be 17 and the parent has to sign or you can when you are 18. no i would never encourage my kid to quit school i tell them all the time how important it is. if the father is a coma she is left to be a sinle parent if she works he is 16 and skip's it would be hard. but she shouldn't have said case close. he would be back in school case closed.
@shamilton712 (99)
• United States
20 Dec 06
If my child were to quit school he/she better if a real good reason... I mean what kind of life will they make of themselves without at least a Hish School diploma. If my child decided to quit school they would need to find a job and get ready to move out(now that they're grown and all).
@coolcager (496)
• Costa Rica
20 Dec 06
hmmmm find another way. because you cant let your kids quit school. its very difficult for them and they realize when they reach 20 and working they will realize how important education is.
@saumav (180)
• India
20 Dec 06
Very interesting fact... It happens
When teenagers find out that they've the legal right to quit school, and they're not at all interested in studies, the falls no back from taking a decision of quitting school.
According to Laws in my country, Adulthood and Legal rights are given to a teenager after age 18(I did. I was on college 1st yr at that age). Well by that time they should have been passed out +2. But guess what, Illiteracy is a major problem in my country. Major of the population in our country lacks complete social literacy.
Now we cannot blame the kids for this. They don't have the right to leave school before the age of 18. So whom should we point the finger to. Yes offcourse the social environment. An illiterate environment stays illiterate and vice versa. Yes its a bit fault of the guardians 2. What if their neighbour's kids are illiterate, does that mean they will make their illiterate too. Nope I will never support that.
Literacy is an important factor for a countrie's development which lacks in many coutries.
