Truancy: Education and American Heritage Dictionary

One of the biggest problems in schools that administration faces is student’s truancy. Truancy, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is the act or condition of being absent in school without permission. When students are absent from school, they have more limited opportunities to learn.

Youth that are frequently truant are most likely to drop out of school; thus they are likely to experience instability in career paths, unintended pregnancy, higher rates of unemployment, and lower lifetime earnings. Truancy has also many consequences for communities in terms of public safety. Truant youths can be found involved in various criminal acts such as theft, vandalism, and shoplifting.

School is a place where students are able to learn in comfort; nevertheless, there are schools that do not have a safe and friendly environment that encourages the students to study. There are schools where the teachers are not caring and dedicated; the students that feel rejected by these teachers will decide not to attend school.

There are many factors that cause truancy. For one, some of the students do not want to attend classes in school because they find school uninteresting. There are some who come from families that may have chaotic living situations or parents that have poor parenting skills to monitor and encourage their children’s school attendance. Some students, who go to schools that have a high rate of bullying cases, feel unsafe to go to school. Furthermore, there are also students who need special academic support because they may have a learning disability.

There are no simple solutions to the problem of truancy, but there are some possible solutions that might help to put a stop to truancy. For example, schools should have compassionate and devoted teachers that believe in the potential of each student; teachers that have high expectations on their students and are willing to help them excel. Classes should be conducted in a more interactive way, instead of assigning large quantities of written work and independent silent reading; teaching practices that were developed from the 20th century are less appealing to children in the 21th century. Schools should also provide an orderly environment so that students feel free from physical threats or violence. Several studies show that schools that have more disciplinary cases are likely to have a lower daily school attendance. Schools should also provide after-school tutoring, Saturday school, or summer school to help the students in their homework and provide them with individual help. Large schools and large classes work against teachers being able to manage classroom discipline and individual help.

The problem of truancy may never be completely put to an end; yet continuous efforts to make sure that all students are in school are still vital. If the parents, community, and schools work together to prevent truancy, there will be less students skipping or dropping out of school; and the future generation of the country will have successful and productive lives.