Judge Issues GPS Tracking Devices for Truant Students
At Bryan Highschool in Texas, truancy has become such an epidemic that a Judge has decided to forced 22 Truants to wear GPS devices. His decision supports the AIM (Attendance Improvement Management) initiative which is also launching a similar program in Port Aurther, Texas.
Aside from requiring students to to wear the GPS devices which can be monitored online, the program also provides coaching, where several times a week students have phone conversations with counselors about school and setting positive goals. So far AIM has proven very successful with a 97% attendance rate for students who participated in Spring of 2009.
“It provides sustainable results,” says Judge Gillam. “It empowers them to stay in school.
(Via KXAN News and Chip Chicklets)
That judge is a moron. Does he actually believe that using technology to locate and return these truant kids to school is going to cause them to suddenly want to be there?
It never ceases to amaze me that people still believe the stick works better than the carrot. This judge is obviously limited in ability to generate productive ideas and would rather get press coverage than create something effective.
Here's a lttle news, Judge:
Punishment has an extremely short half-life. What do you plan to do when they're no longer moved by the whole GPS effort? Lock them in jail? Maybe prison. Yeah, that'll teach those truant kids. A hitch in the old scared straight stuff. That'll get them moving on the right track. That's it. Push them right into anti-social environments where they can learn a whole new education.
That judge needs to have his head checked.