The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

Ripped from the pages of today's Star-Telegram is the latest example of how following the rules gets you nothing.  Fort Worth ISD wants to reduce truancy so they have decided to issue bribes to achieve that goal.  From the lede, I was wondering how they were planning to afford to give "skullcaps, IPods, and hoodies" to every kid who meets their attendance goals, but it turns out that the prizes only go to those who improve their attendance, i.e., those who haven't been following the rules.  The kids and families who have been living up to the standard all along receive absolutely nothing.  Even the school district appreciates a bad boy more than a nice guy.

Clearly, the intelligent student will immediately begin skipping school in the spring so as to reap the benefits by showing up slightly more often in the fall; those who are the most shrewd ought to be able to keep the gravy train rolling for years by alternating their attendance patterns.

I like how the administrators go out of their way to emphasize that truants are not to be seen as in the wrong but merely as "dealing with complicated social issues" which make them so much more valuable and worthy of attention than the kids who do the right thing.  Of course, there's no social issue so complicated that it can't be solved by the generous application of skullcaps, IPods, and hoodies.

And skullcaps and hoodies?  Really?  I mean, I get the appeal of shiny new electronics, but why skullcaps and hoodies?  "Hey, attending school doesn't have to make you look like any less of a thug than your buddies who skip classes!"