Our schools get more and more like jails every year.
The more this happens, the less kids will want to be there and the less they'll learn when they are. Aside from issues of due process and the girl being an adult (and not 15), the punishment of jail does not fit skipping school. Neither does fining the parents. That's retarded. 2.89 isn't a great GPA, but it's not really too bad either.
It's really sad that the police state is creeping deeper into the schools. Maybe if the schools would spend less time preaching down at kids and more time teaching them the kids might want to go.
(sorry, a little off topic)
The teachers & administrators of each school are just as strapped into the situation as the students and parents are regarding having to crank the kids through like factory assembly parts. The higher levels of school administration are the only ones who can change that climate by decreasing classroom size to about half of what it is now. Unfortunately, they'll never do that, because it would mean spending more money on additional schools and doubling the size of their teacher workforce. I believe each school is given a set dollar amount for each warm body. I'm sure no tax paying community would agree to such a huge increase to cover the additional cost that would follow.
Nevermind that the kids are crammed in there like sardines. Nevermind that the only functional way to maintain order is by instituting zero tolerance policies. I feel badly for the teachers who have to operate in that kind of environment, for the children who are measured by only perfection or failure, and for the parents who aren't in a position to get their kids the heck out of the entire system.
