THIS SCHOOL: Is Forcing Lazy Parents to Control Their Out of Control Kids – And We Love It
What do you do with teens when cutting class, causing mischief, and curfew-breaking becomes problematic? You see to it that they get reined in.
How do you do that when so many of the kids who desperately need some boundaries don’t even have any at home?
Cleveland, Ohio thinks they have the answer: get their parents’ attention. Make sure they care what’s going on with their kids’ lives.
Easier said than done, you say? In this touchy-feely, participation award giving, won’t mark in red pen because it might hurt the precious snowflake’s feelings culture, you might be right.
Cleveland went old-school and brought back this little thing called parental responsibility.
If the children are running wild, it’s their parents’ job to set them straight. How do you make it happen? If a cop has to interrupt his duties to bring your precious darling back to class, the parent will get a fine for the trouble.
The parent can either eat the fine (and presumably have a “full and frank exchange of ideas” with junior), or they can claim their kids is not guilty, with a court date (parent and child) to follow. If the parent blows off the court date — since it is a criminal proceeding — the parent can expect a warrant to be issued for their arrest.
Is this another misguided attempt to fill up already bloated jails? Not at all, since the point is getting kids to finish school.
A program called Redirecting Our Curfew Kids is designed to get kids back on track. Community service is one component. Working on communicating with their parents is another component.
How’s it working so far? In the first wave of hearings, 76 families were supposed to show up. Fifty of them were present for their hearings. Those other 26? I don’t expect it will take all that long to take these responsibilities more seriously.