School Attendance -- Why it Is Compulsory

¶ … SCHOOL ATTENDANCE -- WHY IT IS COMPULSORY AND WHY IT SHOULD STAY THAT WAY

Roger Sipher argues that if compulsory attendance laws are repealed, the society would be better off as students who do not wish to be in schools would stay out while the ones who are committed will receive quality education. In this paper, we argue against this line of thought because I personally believe that just like you cannot allow your child the right to eat or not to eat, because you know that not eating would hurt his growth and development, similarly you cannot allow your child or any child for that matter to not go to school because sooner or later they would realize what a huge disservice you did to them by allowing them a say in the matter. Not only does lack of education hurt a person's future, it also has a negative bearing on the society itself where we need more educated people.

Society needs education because education is what makes the world a more livable place. Education is what makes a person more reasonable, more respectful of others and generally more aware of their surroundings. An educated person has the ability to articulate his thoughts and feelings which allow him to vent his frustrations speak his mind and be a more assertive individual. This all helps a child in his adult life when things do not always work the way he would wish and this can lead to several emotional and psychological problems. An educated person will be able to judge his own feelings, understand the source of his frustration and be able to do something about it. An uneducated person will not only hurt himself, he might also resort to anti-social behavior in bouts of depression. This is just one example of how education helps in a person's growth.

When we speak of rights, we must understand that we can only allow rights to people that do not involve hurting themselves or the society. The right to speak, the right to freedom and the right to education are all positive rights which must be extended to a person. But the right to kill, the right to rob, and the right to hurt are not rights per se. If extended, they would destroy the entire society and thus perpetually stagnate the growth of a civilization. Thus we cannot allow a person a free hand in some matters and education is one of them.

It is the responsibility of an entire nation to make sure that every child receives education, even the ones who appear to lag behind or show lack of interest. Lack of interest is not a deciding factor that a child cannot learn. In fact many times what we perceive as lack of interest is simply a child's way of showing us that either he is too smart for what is being taught or he simply doesn't understand the instruction method. Such children can be handled with other strategies. More brilliant children will be placed in classes for gifted students while those who lag behind will receive education through a different instruction method. But in each case, education is a must and they will receive it even if some changes need to be made.

When Sipher says that right to not getting education should be extended to those who do not wish to study, he doesn't realize that most children at one time or another will show complete lack of interest. It is part of growing up and part of asserting their individuality. Children will sometimes also become disruptive because they are not interested in a certain subject or cannot relate to a teacher, or simply fin the contents too boring or too difficult to grasp. But all these are no reasons for allowing them to skip school or never attend school. Like rights to nutrition, right to getting good education is one of the most fundamental rights and any parent who ignores this can be accused of child neglect. Education opens doors of opportunities for a person. And without these opportunities, there is a very bleak possibility of a brighter future.

Look at many developing nations where literacy rate is below 50%. These nations are struggling with numerous issues from political strife to economic upheaval to ethnic violence. All this is happening because young people are not educated enough to find proper jobs, and thus they turn to anti-social activities to support themselves and their families. Their activities destroy the entire nation as we have witnessed in news a number of times. But had these people received education, they would have sought proper jobs in their countries. And if they had failed to find what they wanted, they would go abroad to improve their situation. In any case, they would definitely want to find constructive ways to go ahead in life. This is evidenced by the entrance of a large pool of doctors and engineers from other countries to the U.S. These are educated people who knew they will find acceptance anywhere in the world because of their knowledge.

However a person who was allowed the right to not get an education as child will grow up blaming his parents for sheer lack of opportunities in his life. Imagine your 10-year-old child walking on the street and totally unable to identify words on billboards, and then you see another child in the same age group who is reading every sign with great excitement and getting applause for his efforts. Imagine how this would make your child feel and all because he was given the right to skip school. Imagine who will he end up blaming- not himself for sure since he was just a kid, but you- the parent who robbed him of the joy that comes from being able to read, write, learn and considered educated.

Several years ago, there was a show on Oprah where obese children were invited with their parents. Some very ignorant parents actually said, they fed their children McDonald's happy meals three times a day simply they wanted their child to have the right to eat whatever he liked. This resulted in a small child of five becoming morbidly obese. The child began crying when asked if he wanted to be thinner. He so wished he was thinner so people would ridicule him and he would be more active and mobile. Now ponder this for a while and see how it makes you feel. Don't you wish you could have done something for the child by giving instilling some sense into his parents. Don't you wish the child was active and healthy so he could play with his peers and generally enjoy life. Doesn't that child have the right to enjoy life and be healthy? How can then the right to eat whatever he likes be a positive right if it is sucking out joy from his life. How can this right be allowed when the parent is endangering the very life of this child. For the very same reason, right to not attend school cannot be allowed ever. It would be a major disservice to the child and to the entire society.