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Passing students through school even if they are getting F's. I used to think that was crazy, but in the real world, I'm not sure what the alternative is.
Here's a real life example, duplicated thousands (maybe millions) of times each year:
Student is in 8th Grade. The kid shows up for school, but will not pay attention in class, will not do homework, and will not study. Parents don't give a ***** and student doesn't either.
So, he gets pretty much gets all D's and F's.
What should the school system do about it?
Hold him back in 8th Grade because the didn't pass his classes? What good would that do? He won't pass them again the next year, either. Or the year after that. I don't think it would do any good to have a 17 year old 8th grader.
It seems like there are only 2 realistic alternatives for kids like that:
(1) Pass them through the system (in which case they at least get some socialization skills, if not any academic skill).
(2) Kick them out.
If you adopt a policy of kicking out those who don't get passing grades, there are going to be a lot of 13-14 year olds on the street.
And, there is simply nothing the school system can do about it. If the parents don't care, and the student doesn't care, nobody can force the student to learn. No matter how much money you throw at the school, it makes no difference.
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