ISM Project Introduction and Purpose

Paper


In my first semester of ISM, I am honored to be able to shadow and learn from
my mentor, Judge Jo Ann Delgado. She is a Justice of the Peace at Harris County
Courthouse Precinct 2, Position 1, and deals with many truancy cases. This experience is
going to help me gain knowledge of a career in the law field that I might want to pursue
one day. I am only in the 11
th
grade but these skills I attain throughout this class will
serve a vital role in my lifetime. I am able to observe the courtroom setting as well as
what its like working in the court office. I am able to note the different types of court
cases and the varying suspects that venture into the courtroom each day.
This introduction helps to explain what I do with my time while at Judge
Delgados. I am going to be studying the socioeconomic status of those charged with
truancy. I chose this topic because Ive always wondered what factors cause kids to have
no motivation to go to school. Likewise, it is one of the most prevalent cases seen in
court and a well-known problem that many students are knowledgeable of. The
socioeconomic status has shown up in studies as the number one cause of truancy as well.
My goal for this project is to thoroughly understand the relationship between
truancy and the success of the parent money wise. I will achieve this by listening in on
the truants case and making observations. I also plan to look and familiarize myself with
statistics taken on the parents of the child who is being charged with truancy and whether
any economic issues or family problems arise. I meet with my mentor at least once every
week and on most Thursdays I am able to sit in on court hearings. This project will help
me realize the reasons for children inhibiting this bad act as well as learn of the specific
punishments the child and parent will face if the child continues to fail to attend school.
Our ISM Presentation requires a power point as well as palpable product. The
product that I will be designing is a pie chart that will list and show the results I have
found throughout this mentorship. It will show the amount of suspects parents that
obtain a higher standard of living compared to those that struggle financially. This
product will help the audience see in numbers the economic position that is most
commonly seen in these cases.