Judge's Sentence for Truants? Quality Time With a Jigsaw Puzzle
As a truancy court judge in Garland, Texas, John Sholden hears up to 70 cases a day and sees more than his fair share of repeat offenders.
There are a host of reasons. But many of them are skipping school to get back at their parents. So Sholden began sentencing truants and their parents to assemble puzzles as a way to get them to sit down and talk to each other, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Sholden’s courtroom and chambers are decorated with completed jigsaw puzzles, though he only uses the puzzle sentence in about 10 percent of his cases, mainly for younger students who are unsuitable for other punishments or who are dealing with other problems at home or school.
One parent wasn’t pleased about the $195 fine Sholden levied for her daughter’s 12 unexcused absences. But she told the Morning News that the 1,000-piece puzzle was a good idea.
“Honestly, that’s probably the best thing – quality time with the parent,” she said.
