Comments on: Dad in jail for daughter skipping school

By: Sheri

Sheri — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:00:52 +0000

Something truly puzzles me here…If the child was 17 when the dad took over her schooling and she is now 19 and isn’t passing her GED, at what age will this girl / woman be on her own? In my state, Michigan, a child can quit school at age 16 and get married at 18 with no parental ok. To me, this means that this girl is now an adult and her father should in no way have to pay for anything she does or doesn’t do at this point. Actually, when she was 17, she was old enough that if she left home, ‘whether her father wanted her to or not’, the law would have done nothing to bring her back home. They would have told her father that at that age, there’s really not much they can do. I know this because my own daughter at that age left home and I called the law. They thought I was crazy for calling on a daughter of that age.
The daughter shouldn’t have to go to jail either because now, at age 19, she’s old enough to decide for herself if she wants to be in school or not. What if she doesn’t pass her GED ever? Will they hold the father forever? This whole thing is nuts! I’m not saying the girl doesn’t need an education but what I am saying is at age 19 it’s not up to her father if she gets one or not and it’s not against the law if she decides to forget the whole thing and go her own way. Would they still be holding her dad and forcing her to get an eductaion at age 20, 25 or 30? I mean, where does it stop?! What may not have happened when she was younger, isn’t going to be changed by putting dad or anyone in jail to push a 19 year old daughter to do the right thing. And, we have no idea of what went on when she was younger. Possibly she attended school and there wasn’t a problem. Maybe she had trouble learning and is now frustrated with the whole thing. There does some an age or a time when frustration, especially for anyone with trouble learning, just can’t take much more of it. Maybe in the future when she feels she’s ready, she’ll go back to adult school. For now, the whole thing stinks to me of the law imposing what it hasn’t the right to impose on either of these adults, father or daughter. No crime occured, no neglect as far as we know. Just a woman who has decided she’s had enough of school at her age and a court that’s treating her as if she’s only a child and her father as if he still legally can control her. Did you know that if a father decided to not let his 19 year old daughter out of the house, she could get him for unlawfully holding her? See what I mean, it can’t go both ways, either she’s an adult or no one is an adult at age 19. The courts need to make up their minds!

By: Twenty Items of Interest (v.18) « Caffeinated Thoughts

Twenty Items of Interest (v.18) « Caffeinated Thoughts — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:39:12 +0000

[...] 6. A dad has been jailed for six months for daughter (now 19) skipping school and not graduating. A judge ordered her father to be responsible for her education when she was 17. Apparently he will be in jail until she passes her G.E.D. which apparently she is unable to do. Crazy… while I think parents need to be held accountable when the kids are younger - I think a 17-year-old needs to take responsibility for her actions. My thoughts are why are we, as taxpayers, footing the bill for a kid’s education when that kid clearly has no desire or motivation to be there? That is why I am, in principle, against raising the compulsory age of education to 18. (Source: Alisyn Camerota) [...]

By: Michaela

Michaela — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:52:48 +0000

As a mother of a small child it scares me, if she takes after her father and myself she will rarely be in school and know all the tricks around it. I just hope that I’m on the right path to teach her responsibility for herself. Its scary to think that while we can’t use the “old-fashion” methods of disapline anymore that the “new” methods are not working for many of our teenagers and young adults. Are parents not teaching values and respect anymore? Do parents care? For parents like me that do and are doing everything we can for our children, it scares me to think that no matter how hard I try I can be held responsible for decisions made by another person when she is a older teenager or yound adult.

By: MONICA

MONICA — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:12:27 +0000

being a mother of a rebelous child some kids are so head strong that no kind of punishment works. I tried everything ! you should see all my gray hair lol.

By: Edna

Edna — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:14:28 +0000

I don’t know what a happy medium is for this issue. My daughter has missed over 20 days of school this year for medical reasons and is currently recovering from surgery, but the school sends letters to me threatening to contact the truancy officer because the absence is unexcused. So we as parents are forced to go to a doctor, regardless of the seriousness of the illness, pay for the visit, just to get a note from the doctor to excuse a child from school. As a mother, I think I know when my child is sick enough to miss school. It’s as though the school assumes all children who are not at school are skipping when that may not be the case. As for the father who had to go to jail, the daughter is of legal age now, why not let them switch places and let the girl get her GED while she is in custody. There sure wouldn’t be any distractions so she should have plenty of study time. If kids really had to suffer the consequences of their actions instead of having parents bail them out, or in this case pay the penalty, they might actually learn how to lead a respectable, productive life.

By: Jennifer W

Jennifer W — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:37:47 +0000

Wonder if her dad ever gave her the I’m so disappointed in you speech-made me feel so guilty the thought of skipping school made me cry. I feel bad for the dad some people just can not be made to do anything they dont want to do-seems like after a certain age the child themselves should pay the price. Here in Ky-if you miss too much school you can’t get your drivers license-they are big on that here, and I know that it has helped some, but our drop out rate is still very high! This is first time I have ever responded on your blog-and by the way Alisyn-you are my fav news gal!!!! When do you get your own show?????

By: lynn

lynn — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:22:05 +0000

Its a real shame that someone didn’t stop to find out WHY the child skipped school.!!! If the first time the child skips school its time for the parents to sit down and get it straigtened out. Does the child have a problem with the school work, friends, teachers……there is always a reason why a child “hides out” ie skips school. Possibly an alternate form of schooling may be an option eg home schooling or schools that are not “grade driven”. Putting the parent in jail doesn’t solve the problem. it just ignores the child.

By: arcadio maldonado

arcadio maldonado — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:36:16 +0000

Not for nothing but,some kids just aren’t cut out for going to school or even taking test regardless of how smart they are.There’s always an exception to the rule.It doesn’t matter of what social status or upbringing.These types of individuals need special help and prayer.As for the judge I believe he or she was playing monopoly with the father and he had to pick a card and it read go to jail.Hey I think the judge didn’t attend school.Back in my State kids are allowed to quit school at the age of 16,if thats the same there ,I feel the judge is a bit retarded in making that decision.

By: Melissa Helm

Melissa Helm — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:02:44 +0000

Honestly this should not really shock anyone! If we discipline our children, we the parent has to answer to the court. When we don’t discipline the child and it results in a problem, we should have the court answer. Really…parents have lost rights that guide and assist in raising good, well mannered, behaved citizens, let alone adults - I don’t place my hands on my child to get results, I do have to be firm, fair and consistant. I do have to follow through when I say I will take something away or punish him, even when it means breaking my own plans. You are absolutly right that raising a child doesn’t begin at 17 - being a good parent doesn’t mean it’s easy - following through and doing what’s right isn’t always the easiest - but for as much as we as parents claim to love our children, you’d think folks could love these young children enough to do what’s right by them.

By: Barbara in Panama City Beach

Barbara in Panama City Beach — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:51:39 +0000

My gosh, Larry from Georgia, we could be siblings…..we had the same type of parents! My parents began training me, my sister and brother from “day one”. There was NEVER any discussion about whether or not we were going to go to school. It simply didn’t enter our minds to skip school. We didn’t always LIKE going to school. We knew that if we got into trouble at school whatever punishment they inflicted upon us it would be nothing compared to what we’d face at home when our parents were told of our misbehavior. My parents didn’t “spare the rod” but they were never abusive when punishing us. They used just the right amount of discipline to teach us that misbehaving had consequences that were unpleasant.

I have several friends who are elementary and middle school teachers and I am amazed at the stories they have told me regarding what some of their students have done in their classes. One of my friends was physically assaulted by an 8th grader. Others have said that kids who are forced to go to school usually end up disrupting all of their classes to the point that the teachers are unable to teach the rest of the students.

So many factors have caused problems for school-age children but I think all of them stem from a moral breakdown in our society. Because of this breakdown, about all we can do is continue to install metal detectors at the entrances of our schools and deal with the troubled students as best we can. Building more and larger prisons will also be required.