The terrible truth about truants

The number of children playing truant and being excluded from school has reached crisis point. More than a million youngsters skip lessons each year and over 100,000 are temporarily excluded. Of those pupils excluded, 83 per cent are boys. Half are aged 14 or 15.

The Government wants to reduce levels of truancy and permanent exclusion by a third. These problems are blighting the lives of an increasing number of youngsters who could escape poverty through education. And the rising tide of disaffection is juvenile crime.

We want to focus on prevention although there will always be cases where pupils have to be excluded for the good of other children and to allow teachers to be able to teach. Those who play truant and are excluded are more likely to become teenage parents, unemployed, homeless, or to end up in prison. Society pays the price.

There are many reasons why children drop out: family problems, low parental expectations, or long-term unemployment at home. Teachers, too, sometimes assume that some youngsters can never achieve much progress because of their background.

Exclusion and truancy are not insoluble. We have to prevent disruptive behaviour and share the best practice for dealing with it.

Local education authorities will be set targets to reduce levels of truancy and exclusions. We will encourage more imaginative approaches with the resources to do the job. We are already tar­geting £22 million this year.

(From The Guardian /English Learner’s Digest, 1998, 20)

Culture context

Juvenile delinquent - a child or young person who shows no concern for other people or behaves in a criminal way. Young people (below the age of 18) who misbehave or are criminals are not put in prison but may be sent to a special school to be educated or trained, to try to prevent them offending again.

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense-form:

1. They (to go) to the Maly Theatre last week. 2. They (to be) to the theatre twice this week. 3. He (to come) home, (to have) a short rest, (to read) an article from the latest magazine and (to begin) to prepare his lessons. 4. When (to return) your friend from the South? — She (to return) yesterday.— You (to go) to the station to meet her? — No, I (can) not. I (to be) too busy. 5. With whom (to discuss) you this question yesterday?

6. I (to see) this film this week and I like it very much. 7. When I (to enter) the kitchen, I (to see) that my mother (to stand) at the table and (to cut) some cabbage. She (to cook) dinner. 8. As soon as I (to hear) a cry I (to run) out of the room and (to see) that the child (to lie) on the ground and (to cry). “What (to happen)? (To hurt) you yourself?” 9. I (to want) to get tickets to the Bolshoi Theatre. — You (to want) to hear the new opera? (Not to hear) you.it yet? 10. What (to go) you to do? — Now I (to go) to have a bite. I (to have) not any dinner today. 11. As soon as*I (to see) him, I (to understand) that he (to work) hard. He (to think) of something very important for him and (not to notice) anything. 12. Your brother (to return) from the North? — Yes, he (to come) two days ago. 13. (To be) you to the Crimea? When (to be) you there? — I (to stay) there for two months in 1979. I (to remember) I (to like) everything there, and most of all I (to like) the sea.