Sweden edition

Student skips school for a whole year

Published: 3 Sep 09 10:39 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21850/20090903/

A seventh grade high school student was absent from school for a whole year, but neither the school nor the county council raised the alarm, according to a report in the Östgöta Correspondenten newspaper.

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Now the Swedish National Agency for School Inspection (Skolinspektionen) has sharply criticised both the Motala County Council’s education administration and the school's principal.

The schools inspection agency considers that too few student support resources were in place, and that it took far too long before the school made any contact with the student or the parents.

The student did not attend school because the child was dissatisfied with the class, according to the report.

Although the student is being made to repeat seventh grade, neither the County Council nor the school’s principal will escape responsibility, the schools inspection agency says.

“I have tried in every possible manner and way, and have taken help outside from other administrations to get this situation right. We could not have done any more. This also applies in making contact with the family to make progress,” the school principal told the newspaper.

The principal said that a home visit was planned, but he did not want to specify why the visit did not go ahead.

TT/Stuart Roberts (news@thelocal.se)

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11:35 September 3, 2009 by Lisaann

This is not a surprise. I know of one parent whose son was taking extra classes for a particular subject. The Tutor was being paid for a certain amount of students, but the kid never attended any of the classes, and she did not report it. what ever happen to roll call, if a child is absent for any length of time, it should be noted and reported accordingly. Needless to say, the tutor was still collecting the fees.

Another issue is the slack system allowed in this country. The kids are in control because they are out of control. No parental guidance. And so it goes, a society with discipline, boundaries and respect leads to desstruction.

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11:49 September 3, 2009 by the pigeon hunter

when i was in school you got into immediate trouble if you did not show up for a lesson. our teachers kept a close count on as all, at all times. you had to bring a parent's written explanation and signature if you needed to go to the doctor for instance and you had to let the school know _beforehand_ if you were going to miss class.

@ lisaann: re: parental guidance: i don't understand why people believe the only way to raise a child properly is by corporal punishment and why people seem to have stopped raising their kids, period, after legislation was brought that forbade hitting kids.

my mum and dad never hit me or my brother, yet they still managed to give us values and a perspective. is it laziness? i guess it's easy to smack your child and difficult to come up with a different strategy if smacking is not an option.

yet, if i am not prepared to raise and educate my child, i should not have any kids in the first place.

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12:06 September 3, 2009 by Leprehcaun

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet and that makes me a bit unsure about what I'm about to say..

You can't be a 7th grader in high school. Should be: a 7th grade primary school pupil.

Pigeon hunter made my point but something he said has to be repeated to make it more clear; why do you "believe the only way to raise a child properly is by corporal punishment". Seriously, why do you think it's the ONLY way? I don't know anyone who was hit as a kid (except for my 61 year old dad) and I don't know anyone who wasn't displined or didn't have parental guidance. Nice rant, I really don't like it, I think it is quite laughable. Kids being in control.. wow I would love to see that. I grew up in Sweden so I have never seen anything like that though.

Can you tell me about the memories you are ssure to haveuntil the day you die, the memories of your parents hitting you, they must feel good since they did it with their best intentions and not at all because they were angry and wanted to vent their displeasure and anger towards you.

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12:37 September 3, 2009 by the pigeon hunter

@leprehcaun: sadly it isn't actually a bizzare statement to say "kids are in control". I was teaching in the UK for a year a couple of years ago and MAN, have i ever seen so little respect for grown-ups? these kids rule not just their parents but also their teachers. they simply do precisely as they wish and what more, make demands which they will enforce should they not be met in the most cruel ways.

it's 8-12 year old kids who will already behave badly and if you try to discipline them by cutting their freedom they will get back at you the mean way. not just funny little pranks like sticking a post-it to your back. they will scratch your car, they will damage anything and everything they can reach if they believe that you have crossed their will one too many times. they will come to your home at night and throw eggs, they will dig up your lawn in the middle of the night, they will send you death threats and some of the older ones even went as far as having a teacher beat up by a couple of thugs because he cancelled a field trip due to bad behaviour.

maybe kids in sweden are raised better. maybe parents and teachers are more in control. but i have seen how bad it can get. i have seen grown men and women afraid of teaching a class of 8 year olds.

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12:58 September 3, 2009 by duncs

7th grade is the first year of high school where i come from, which would make this kid about 13 yrs old. One thing to consider though is what the hell were the parents doing? it's fair to blame the school for poor monitoring but shouldn't the parents be taking an interest in the childs education? Maybe they should go to a parent teacher night or check homework or something? In my view the parents should be disciplined with a good hard kick up the arse!

I used to get the cane when I was at school and it hasn't caused me any damage. All it did was keep me in line. Yes there may be other ways, or better ways, but as a rebelious teenager you don't always listen to reason do you.

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16:27 September 3, 2009 by Lisaann

Correction to my post. last line, last paragraph should read, "A society without discipline.......

Well said pigeon hunter.

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19:50 September 3, 2009 by peropaco

The ones to be blamed here are the parents. Nowhere else in the world could a 7th grade kid be absent from school for an entire year without the parent noticing it. Dint the parent tried asked about the homework, report card, parent-teachers meetings etc? I have an idea what the parent were busy doing; watching bingolotto, reality TV, playing the slot machine at the lonely boring shopping malls in Nässjö, getting drunk and cheating!

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00:10 September 4, 2009 by Canada_Girl

Students can be sneaky when they are in the mindset that they will not attend classes. Some will pretend to be their parents when teacher's call, delete messages from the school, write fake notes, and even send letters saying they've moved out of the area.

More parents need to make sure that they know where their children are; far to many are "busy parents" and don't take their responsibilities seriously. That being said, the school should have called the parents AT WORK to make sure they know about the lack of attendance.

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03:46 September 4, 2009 by DamnImmigrant

Why is this kid still with the parents?

The parents actions were BLATANT CHILD ABUSE!

Maybe they just say sorry and pay a fine.

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#10

12:55 September 4, 2009 by Rick Methven

peropaco "shopping malls in Nässjö" Since when? I've not seen them. Must ask my brother-in-law(from Nässjö) about them when he comes up for the weekend tomorrow.

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#11

04:08 September 18, 2009 by jag2009

@the pigeon hunter

Lets not point the finger at UK kids. Its a big topic depending on what erea you were teaching. There is a difference between teaching in Battersea to teaching in Chelsea. I think this problem is worldwide. America not so long ago had a masked man come in with a gun and shot fellow pupils. Sweden are not exempt from this problem, and you cant blame this behaviour on the parents alone. Look at all the celebs who have came out with top education, top this and that, and look they turn to drugs...

Its a worldwide issue with loopholes in the law. Note also in UK class sizes can be big. Normally are.

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