LP>> give me loads of college students!!!
 VB>  No kidding!
I mean, geez, talk about mountains & molehills, huh?
 LP>> physically elsewhere.  The only thing I really used to hate about
 LP>> ditchers is all the paperwork I had to fill out when a kid was AWOL.  A
 LP>> City of Phoenix program has eliminated much of that for us.
 VB>  There is loads of paperwork in k-12 where there isn't in college. The
 VB>  college profs I knew marked one absent, but certainly didn't go
 VB>  trying to find the kids..
The city of Peoria, AZ, came up with a new program which was piloted in
several districts in Phx this year which outlines criminal prosecution
of parents & children who do not attend school.  Those unexcused
absences add up & the parent & child are in court before the situation
gets irremediable.
 LP>> Funny thing, **every** post-secondary school I've attended here in AZ
 LP>> (junior college, university, grad school) has stressed its attendance
 LP>> policy prior to registration.  The profs almost always list attendance
 LP>> & punctuality as comprising part of the grade & detail how the number
 LP>> will affect the final grade.  Two summers ago, one prof even counted
 LP>> tardiness to lower grades.  The only classes I took at ASU as an
 LP>> undergrad in which attendance wasn't even taken were a couple of
 LP>> education lectures which had close to 300 students enrolled.  All the
 LP>> others took roll & counted it.
 VB>  Well, I knew profs that did that as well. What I was really saying
 VB>  was that the profs did not go and make a real effort to get the kids
 VB>  to class like is done in the k-12 level. They had their policy and
Our school personnel is not doing this much anymore.  The Attendance is
Mandatory program sends the police out to the family's residence after
two warning letters (@ 5 & 8 unexcused full day absences.)  One of our
officers told the newspaper that he has arrived at a house to find the
parent claiming that "I can't make her get out of bed," so he goes into
the bedroom & wakes the student.  He then writes out a citation on a
traffic ticket form with a court date.  There are two more levels beyond
that, but rare is the child who continues sleeping in after Officer Rudy
pays them a personal visit.
 VB>  they followed it and the students knew it. If they wanted to ditched,
 VB>  they ditched, but they were going to have to take their knocks for
 VB>  not going to class..
Obviously, this doesn't apply to college students.  The highest level of
knocks the K-12 bunch are getting under the AIM program is that the
parent goes to jail.  Lowest level are the 2 letters, then the ticket to
the child, then a ticket to the parent if the absences continue after
the initial court appearance, then at a second court appearance, the
parent is given a choice of paying a fine or paying to attend a
parenting class.  The class is a bit cheaper than the fine &, in any
case, the parent has no choice about paying the court costs.  If the
parent declines either choice of fine or class, the parent goes to jail.
Some of the kids who've received citations have told me they've been
asked by the judge, "Do you want to see your mom in jail?" and that that
comment did the trick, they will now come to school.
 LM>> FWIW, I NEVER saw a single student demonstrate evidence, by word
 LM>> or deed, of being intoxicated.
 VB>  I saw a hangover or three over the years, but I never really saw kids
 VB>  going to class drunk, either.
I've had senior & junior high school kids show up to class high on acid,
coke, pot, & methamphetamines or suffering the effects of those drugs
or booze, but never was aware of anyone sharing my college classes being
openly impaired.  I think college students are less likely to show up in
a such a condition for several reasons.
First, they don't always have parents monitoring whether they attend
school & don't have to maintain the normal routine to avoid being
caught.  Second, they realize that their teachers are a little more
savvy than HS students give theirs credit for being & they know it is
more likely their condition will bring unwanted legal attention or
academic censure.  Plus, I think if I was hungover, I'd prefer to allow
my prof to believe I was out with the flu, than to show up & risk
demonstrating graphically how I spent my study time the night before by
having to ralph during class.  Besides, while it is somewhat "cool" to
rebel in HS & use various substances, the factor of impressing one's
peers by using diminishes somewhat in college.
Leona Payne
... To change everything, simply change your attitude.
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