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Unaccountable absenteeism is the concern

Letter writer responds to criticism
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In no way did I intend to criticize all home schooling in my recent letter to the editor (Truancy is child abuse, Progress Jan. 31). It was a very unfair generalization on my part. I am very much aware that there are numerous examples of effective and worthwhile home schooling for youngsters who benefit greatly from this form of education. There are also many valid and appropriate reasons for making this choice for a child’s education. My letter was intended to be commentary on absenteeism and attendance problems in our schools. Many of these poor attenders aren’t getting the support they need to attend school regularly and in my view this is a significant problem.

I realize that I didn’t do as much research as I should have when it comes to home schooling and I thank those of you who have educated me on this. Also I shouldn’t have mixed the issues of home schooling and absenteeism. They are two very separate things.

Unaccountable absenteeism is the concern I have. Good attendance used to be an expectation. In most instances it still is but unfortunately some children just aren’t getting the support needed to ensure that they get the education they have a right to.

Ken Bramble