Right to school
I do not agree with the author that we should do away with the mandatory school attendance system. Roger Sipher argues that there is a crisis in the education sector since the present mandatory attendance laws force many children to attend school, but given a chance would not attend school. The United Nations Convention on children’s rights recognizes education as one of the basic rights a child should enjoy. Since children are not able to make sound judgments, this role is bestowed on the parents or guardians. There is no choice of attending or not attending school, all children must attend classes as per the stipulated schedule. The importance of routine attendance can not be underscored for it hold the future, not only that of the child but for the whole country. One clear thing is that children need guidance; there are issues that they should not be given a choice since they might not make informed choices. Attending school is for their benefit, we should be emphasizing how to take every child in school but not on how we make laws that will keep some students out of class.
Attendance
According to Roger Sipher, compulsory attendance does not increase the number of children in school since schools cannot implement this law. What the writer fails to understand is that the law is a deterrent and this reduces instances of absconding school, what should be done is to enforce these laws to ensure maximum compliance; still, it is the government that is charged with the responsibility of enforcing laws, not schools as the writer had suggested. Roger Sipher makes an argument that the correlation between compulsory attendance regulation has had little statistical changes on the numbers attending classes. This is one statement that I would like to refute since those parents who hold the same arguments as the writer are compelled by the law to take their children to school and hence it has helped maintain high levels of school attendance. The writer takes an argument that it is not possible to give everybody an education, where he misses the point is in his assertion that we take that loophole to justify the relaxation of the rules which will see more students out of class. It should be noted that on top of providing basic education, schools play a big role in socializing students into human beings that can fit in a mixed society, this is an institution that helps impart some basic knowledge that helps human beings survive in a society.
Discipline
Sipher asserts that indisciplined students show little value for education and hence no need to force them to class. The writer wants to justify why we should do away with some of the rules, he takes an apathetic approach on this matter seeming to condemn this lot of students. One thing the writer should put into consideration is the fact that deviant behaviors can be eliminated if there are concerted efforts to revise this vice, with proper guidance and counseling such wayward students can revert to serious learning. If the writer’s arguments were to be put in law, there would be a sharp decrease in quality of education as well as an increase in semi illiteracy; the spillover problem would be immense as it could spill to generations. A child, who attended school as an option when young, might not get the need to put a child in full-time class when they grow up. Such a scenario might be repeated into generations condemning some families into a precarious situation due to lack of education.
Attendance option
Sipher argues on the fact that there are many reluctant children in schools, who only do it due to existing regulations. It would be amoral to associate students’ resistance to attending school with the system. The parents must hammer to the students the importance of attending school and attaining good grades. If parents understand and appreciate the value of education, there should be no problem with their children attending school regularly. Freedom comes with responsibility, and these students are not responsible enough to be let alone to chat their academic ways forward.
Works Cited
United Nations. Children’s rights. 1995. Web.
Sipher Roger. So that nobody has to go t school if they don’t want to. 2010. Web.