Schools giving students unexcused absences...

[the_std]

I guess I'm just old-fashioned, or maybe my folks were too strict. But pulling kids out of school "just cause" does. not. make. sense. I didn't miss out.

It looks like there is a completely different underlying mindset here. I acknowledge that school is important, that students should do their best to educate themselves and broaden their mindsets, their knowledge base, to have curious and active brains. But I don't think that school is the end-all be-all of this education experience. It is a large majority of it, yes, and for the most part it works very well. It is a stable and important base. But I do not think it is important enough to sacrifice all other life experiences for it. I don't believe that people should sacrifice other avenues of learning, other possibilities, other chances, solely for school. In a nutshell, I think that skipping school once in a while will not harm a person's education. A rigorous application of standardized schooling does not make you a better person, and bending the rules can lead to some valuable lessons.

I think that, because school is your job, school is such a huge part of your life, it seems as though you think it should play an equally important and serious role in everyone else's life. I'm glad you enjoy it enough to make it so big to you, but I don't believe that everyone would benefit from doing things the same way, which includes such strict attendance policies.

[kibbles]

I think it's really sad and disheartening that people in the school system automatically think parents don't care about education because they take a family vacation at times that are available.

The world is not always black and white you know.

[Hyena Dandy]

I would never have been able to make it through that school. I've got a bit of a school phobia, and sometimes I needed days off just to relax, because of my anxiety. I couldn't get a doctor's note for that.

And I think if the parent wants to take the kid out of school for a day or so, or however long, that's fine. Or at least it should be. Cracking down on kids taking the day off because they want to is one thing, but having to crack down on parents excusing them is quite another. Especially when it comes to having a doctor's note for the day off, seeing as sometimes, you don't even find out the kid HAS a fever until the next day.




School is important, but there are other important things. And its up to the parents, not the teachers, to determine how important the schooling is.

[crashhelmet]

Parents have every right to pull their kids out of class at any time they want to. it's only when it gets to certain lengths of time that truancy laws start to get stepped on.

What this is all coming down to is money.

Schools are funded based on their student attendance every day throughout the year. This sounds nothing more than a scare tactic to reduce the number of absences and raise the attendance to get their funding.

CH

[Hobbs]

School is important, but there are other important things. And its up to the parents, not the teachers, to determine how important the schooling is.

I think it's really sad and disheartening that people in the school system automatically think parents don't care about education because they take a family vacation at times that are available.

The world is not always black and white you know.

And people wonder why our kids don't get an education and the system is in the crapper.

Apathy isn't just a result of overworked teachers. If parents don't care enough to keep their kids in class, or plan vacations/trips accordingly, then they need to be held just as accountable.

[Peppergirl]

It shouldn't be black or white, but if we are talking funding and applying rules fairly, I guess it has to be.

How can we compare parents who pull their kids out for no reason (and often
) to a parent who wants to take their kid on a trip and will be gone from school a day or two?

I don't think the parent who wants to go somewhere once in a great while should be lumped in with the parents who just don't give a shit and go constantly.

[crashhelmet]

I don't think the parent who wants to go somewhere once in a great while should be lumped in with the parents who just don't give a shit and go constantly.

Agreed. My ex-gf is a single mom and her days off are days her son is in school. if she wants to do anything elaborate with him, like hiking, taking a trip to the beach, or whatever, she has to pull him out of school. Switching her schedule around is too much of a hassle and she can't afford to call out. So once every couple of months, if his grades are good and he's been behaving, she'll reward him with a trip somewhere.

CH

[Hobbs]

Agreed. My ex-gf is a single mom and her days off are days her son is in school. if she wants to do anything elaborate with him, like hiking, taking a trip to the beach, or whatever, she has to pull him out of school. Switching her schedule around is too much of a hassle and she can't afford to call out. So once every couple of months, if his grades are good and he's been behaving, she'll reward him with a trip somewhere.

CH

Okay, granted. But she shouldn't bitch that the absence is unexcused, since there is no extenuating circumstance for taking him out of class.

[fireheart17]

my state has a system to get around this. While they encourage parents to plan their holidays during school holidays, if there's no other option, the parents need to fill out an exemption form so the student will be away for a week or more (this is ONLY if the child will be absent for a week or more). This goes until you are 16. After that, they don't care (compulsory school age is 16 here in Ausland). And the guidelines on the form are VERY strict, that is, the student needs to submit the form well ahead of schedule, not the day before they leave for their trip.

If there's a funeral interstate, students/parents need to let the school know at least the day before.

If the child is sick, in most cases, parents just need to ring the school IN THE MORNING to let the school know. If the child's going to be out of school for about a week or more, a medical certificate is required.

And finally, if the child is absent for 10 days or more in a term, without an exemption form filled out for any of those circumstances, the education department gets to investigate.

[kibbles]

So because a parent my take their kid out of school on occasion for a vacation, that means the kid will not get an education? That's a bit of a stretch IMO.

[crashhelmet]

Okay, granted. But she shouldn't bitch that the absence is unexcused, since there is no extenuating circumstance for taking him out of class.

The only time Excused or Unexcused should be an issue is if the student intentionally skips school, without their parents' consent. If their parent calls the school and says my child won't be in, the school should just say OK. They honestly have no right to ask, be concerned, or hold it against the student.

CH

[HYHYBT]

I vaguely remember that the only real difference between excused and unexcused absences when I was in school came in if you got too many: more than ten absences in a semester was an automatic fail unless you appealed, which involved documenting all of them as excused.

I don't know whether they required doctor's notes for all sick days or not; I want to say a note from a parent was enough, but Dad *is* a doctor so it didn't matter.

The only time I was ever taken out for any reason other than illness or a death in the family was one day in 8th grade... we had out-of-state family that we only saw every several years in town on short notice, and took them to the Cyclorama. The school excused it... but probably wouldn't have if it had been a common occurrence.

[Hobbs]

The only time Excused or Unexcused should be an issue is if the student intentionally skips school, without their parents' consent. If their parent calls the school and says my child won't be in, the school should just say OK. They honestly have no right to ask, be concerned, or hold it against the student.

CH

It is the school's responsibility to make sure the child is getting a good education. If a parent is being a fail by not being a responsible parent, it is their concern. I always find it mildly amusing and sad that irresponsible parents never want to be called out on their irresponsibilities.

[MrsEclipse]

It is the school's responsibility to make sure the child is getting a good education. If a parent is being a fail by not being a responsible parent, it is their concern. I always find it mildly amusing and sad that irresponsible parents never want to be called out on their irresponsibilities.

If the school wants to make sure that kids are getting a good education, they need to start at a way different place than absences.

[MaggieTheCat]

It is the school's responsibility to make sure the child is getting a good education. If a parent is being a fail by not being a responsible parent, it is their concern. I always find it mildly amusing and sad that irresponsible parents never want to be called out on their irresponsibilities.

So someone like CH's girlfriend is being an irresponsible parent for wanting to spend a day with her child once every few months, when she doesn't get to normally due to the regular work/school schedule?

I'd say that's just the opposite of irresponsible, actually.

If the parent is pulling the student frequently, enough so that the student is falling behind in his classes and his grades are suffering, then the school has reason to be concerned and should look in to it. But a parent who pulls a child one day every few months, or for one week a year to go on vacation, while the student's grades are good, is not irresponsible and the student and parent should not be punished by the school for doing so.