Intramural Education

I am always delighted to receive threats from the local school district. This most recent threat included criminal prosecution regarding my role in my daughter’s required attendance at the public high school.  As if the mandated public service hours weren’t far enough beyond the scope of education for me to question the actual goals of public education, I am warned that I must be an accomplice in the school’s arbitrary attendance policy.

Yes, sporadic attendance will no doubt hamper a student’s ability to follow what was presented in class; particularly when what is presented is not part of a prepared or shared course syllabus. This is not the concern manifested on the notice, however; the concern is that each child be held within the walls of the school for the days and hours prescribed by the law under the guise of promoting public education – not that the child is actually educated. Somehow, within this tight scrutiny, time spent in public service is understood to be forgiven.  

According to these state guidelines, today, I have committed a criminal act.  What’s more, I have conspired with the inmate, I mean, my daughter, to systematically commit further criminal acts.  Most egregiously, my act was done in defiance of the understood exception to the intramural education policies: I excused my daughter early from school today, and will continue to do so on a weekly basis because she wants to work instead of wait out the waning minutes of the day within the walls of the school.

Clearly, we both suffer from the same social disease.  I just hope officer Krupke doesn’t find out.