Garbage Goes in Garbage Can

I can't stress that enough, people. Don't just throw it out the window.

Ok, now that we have that mini-parenting lesson out of the way, let's "start a conversation" about jailing parents for missing teacher conferences! Good common sense says that alll "good" parents show up for these conferences. And it's not harsh to give parents criminal records for being uninvolved at school. It's all about protecting our children and helping parents be the best moms and dads they can be. In fact, the local prosecutor would team with social services agencies to make sure that these parents have "resources" so that they can do a better job after they serve their time. Isn't that nice?

Government really *does* care better than we can for our children. And for those *very few* of you out there who are doing a "good" job without help from the sheriff's office, I'm sure you'd be ok with laws like this because they won't affect you. Just like you'd have no problem with the police searching through your house and your car without a warrant if you have nothing to hide. And if this jailtime proposal saves only ONE child from a mediocre education, it would be worth it. Because children are important.

I've heard this sort of "conversation" before in regard to "welfare checks" on the children who are homeschooled as well. Rather than assuming that a parent is a good ENOUGH parent not to be prosecuted and/or lose his children, we should start from the assumption that there ARE bad parents out there. I mean, that IS a true statement. There are. Bad parents. Out there. And egads, some of them homeschool!

So every year or so, homeschoolers ought to submit something official certifying that they've been checked out by a government-approved agency and are ok enough parents to have charge of their children until the next reporting season. Child abuse is no small thing, and if it saves just ONE child from abuse or neglect, it would be worth it. Because children are important.

I'm musing on this idea, and I have to tell you that I'm not sure why we'd only do this annually, though. I'm thinking quarterly is still better. If it saves just ONE child, it would be worth it. Because children are important, and there ARE bad parents out there. I would happily submit to having my home investigated every quarter! And I think a social worker should ensure my children are not watching "educational television" during their homeschooling hours via spot checks! Can't be too careful.

Yes. I would be only too happy to give up all my rights AND vote against those of my neighbours if it would save only one child. We all know that children are never abused in state-approved foster care, so the ends justify the means.

Seriously... Is this even a "conversation" we should be having?

Did it ever occur to anyone that some parents miss those parent-teacher conferences not because they don't care, but because the meetings are hard to make and/or are patronizing and convey no real new information about their child's progress? Or did it ever occur to anyone that maybe some parents are homeschooling because the abuse is IN THE SCHOOL? Did it?

And did any of these people actually ask the teachers whether they really want to have these "resources" funnelled away from the classroom? The money for these programs comes from somewhere, you know.

Darren, a public high school math teacher, wrote that parents who are only there for conferences because they've been threatened with prison are JUST the sort he wants to deal with. Methinks he was a weeee mite sarcastic.

I s'pose there are crappy parents everywhere, but I think we should save the big guns in our arsenal for clear-cut abuse cases. In my opinion, we should err on the side of keeping children with their parents while we recognize that there ARE very bad parents out there. And the "crimes" of the very bad parents aren't limited to missing conferences. For crying out loud...