Schools giving students unexcused absences...

[Hobbs]

It's probably a good idea to pay attention to what's being said BEFORE you start accusing others of not listening.

You should follow your own advice. I distinctly said that it was problematic if they were missing the maximum or more days (9+) during a school year and a parent was complacent about it. I distinctly remember saying that, so maybe you should pay attention.

[Hobbs]

You are the only one talking about taking two weeks off from school. No one else has suggested that.

CH and Linguist mentioned it, as did others. You mentioned just nonchalantly not caring about attendance. Maybe you need to pay more attention.

[KnitShoni]

Yes you are. When I went to school (Texas) I also had to follow the rules. And I didn't have a "nice" mommy like you that didn't care about my attendance. My hide would have been tanned if my mother knew I was skipping out of school.

Oh, ok. Sorry. I guess I imagined this, in response to my post. I apologize.

[Hobbs]

Oh, ok. Sorry. I guess I imagined this, in response to my post. I apologize.

Apology accepted. Don't worry, mistakes happen to lots of people.

[Bronzebow]

Definitely weighing in on the "a day or three over the course of a year is okay" side.

Not counting sickness: I missed three days of school in second grade to go to disney world. Honestly, second grade was just way too easy considering the material we were covering. I gained a lot of memories with my mom and dad, and it was a blessing considering how busy they worked and how we weren't always able to all get together. I missed a Monday and a Friday in seventh grade so we could go to Georgia and have a family reunion. I missed I think three days in eight grade because my mom was having major back surgery, and all of us kids wanted to be there with her in the hospital. I regret none of these decisions, and none of them were the wrong choice for my family.

I missed exponentially more time than that through my schooling because I was in the band. We'd be pulled out of class to get ready for pep rallies, band trips, football games, or concerts. I graduated in the top 5% while doing occasional work as a self employed PC tech and taking extra classes necessary to qualify for several college grants. My parents decided it would be my decision to stay home in high school for those same gimme days KnitShoni talks about, and I appreciate them allowing me to grow up a little bit by letting me choose. They weren't really school days anyway, so it doesn't make a difference. It gave me more opportunity to earn some more for college and to hang out with friends I wouldn't be seeing for a while. They're good parents, and those experiences let me grow.

There's a balance to be drawn. Taking kids out of school an exorbitant amount of times, keeping them home for having hair out of place, and not caring where your kid is is harmful to too many. Never taking time to be with your kids, giving them exorbitant amounts of work on holidays, and breathing down a parents' neck for a mid year vacation teaches the wrong life lessons. It really takes an individual approach, for responsible parents to make the judgment call for each of their kids.

[Greenday]

CH and Linguist mentioned it, as did others. You mentioned just nonchalantly not caring about attendance. Maybe you need to pay more attention.

Even if it's for one week during the school year, how is that bad? if it was one week a month, I could see the issue, but not 1 week out of the 9 months there in there.

CH

That is the longest either of them mentioned taking off for vacation. Linguist mentioned something about being sick for a long time which has nothing to do with my argument. So five days was what crashhelmet said. One straight week of missed classes, then not skipping the rest of the year.

So now we come back to the "Why should I suffer because some people who can't handle missing days skip then fail?" If a kid can handle missing that much in one week, no major tests or quizzes that week, then what is the big deal? This question has yet to be answered.

[Hobbs]

So now we come back to the "Why should I suffer because some people who can't handle missing days skip then fail?" If a kid can handle missing that much in one week, no major tests or quizzes that week, then what is the big deal? This question has yet to be answered.

AS I've said before, you're not a special snowflake. Even if one child out of a school of...hundreds or so, is able to skip a week of classes without detriment, doesn't mean that every student has that opportunity. Therefore, in order to be equittable, tardy policies must be equal to all students. Just because you're smarter/have richer parents, doesn't give you the excuse to shirk the rules.

Also, I have mentioned that being pulled out for the "nothing days" is permissible, as long as it doesn't exceed the maxmimum allowance of absences within a school year. The question has been answered; the problem is, you don't like the answer.

[linguist]

That is the longest either of them mentioned taking off for vacation. Linguist mentioned something about being sick for a long time which has nothing to do with my argument.

it's a cumulative effect. if a student takes off 2 or 3 days to go on vacation with family, and then gets sick for an extended period, or even sick multiple times over the year, the time off limit can be easily exceeded.

So now we come back to the "Why should I suffer because some people who can't handle missing days skip then fail?" If a kid can handle missing that much in one week, no major tests or quizzes that week, then what is the big deal? This question has yet to be answered.

the big deal is that you can't have one set of rules that applies to some students, and another set for others. the rules have to be applied consistently to all students. besides, i don't think that anyone has said parents can't take their children out for vacations, just that it's not a good idea, and if a parent chooses to do so anyway then they should be prepared to deal with the consequences. consequences, i should add, that they knew of ahead of time, or at least they should have if they were paying any attention to their children's education.

and i have to agree with hobbs; saying "the rules shouldn't apply to me because i don't agree with them" is pretty much the ultimate in entitlement whore thinking.

[Greenday]

Which is why I said the rules should be more relaxed and allowed excused absences. I've been saying this entire time that it comes down to this: if you can skip classes once in a while and it won't hurt you, then it shouldn't matter. But if you skip classes when you know you can't handle it, the effect on your grade is punishment enough.

[KnitShoni]

the big deal is that you can't have one set of rules that applies to some students, and another set for others. the rules have to be applied consistently to all students. besides, i don't think that anyone has said parents can't take their children out for vacations, just that it's not a good idea, and if a parent chooses to do so anyway then they should be prepared to deal with the consequences. consequences, i should add, that they knew of ahead of time, or at least they should have if they were paying any attention to their children's education.

Ok, but, because of school events, there IS one set of rules for some students and not others. Why is it ok for the band to take my daughter out of school (or myself, when I was in school) for a week to go to Disneyworld at the beginning of a grading period, but we can't take my son out of school for two half-days at the end of the semester to go hunting with his dad and grandfather? Why is it ok for the choir to take kids out of their Math, English, or Science classes to go sing at the mall, but their parents can't take them to see family at what may actually be the only time they're able?

[linguist]

they do allow excused absences, at least in texas; but even excused absences count toward the maximum allowable. the only real difference between excused and unexcused is that if the absence is excused the student is allowed to make up any missed work.

[the_std]

it's a cumulative effect. if a student takes off 2 or 3 days to go on vacation with family, and then gets sick for an extended period, or even sick multiple times over the year, the time off limit can be easily exceeded.

This is a bad argument. Students shouldn't take any days off just because they might get sick? If people stopped taking time off from their lives just because something might happen, no one would ever do something fun. I'm not going to avoid taking vacation at work just because I might get sick later, and no, I don't get vacation or sick time yet, so it is an accurate comparison.

[linguist]

Ok, but, because of school events, there IS one set of rules for some students and not others. Why is it ok for the band to take my daughter out of school (or myself, when I was in school) for a week to go to Disneyworld at the beginning of a grading period, but we can't take my son out of school for two half-days at the end of the semester to go hunting with his dad and grandfather? Why is it ok for the choir to take kids out of their Math, English, or Science classes to go sing at the mall, but their parents can't take them to see family at what may actually be the only time they're able?

while i don't necessarily agree with the reasoning, school-sanctioned events such as your daughter's trip or the choir's performance are still considered time in school, and therefore the same set of rules is being applied.

[KnitShoni]

they do allow excused absences, at least in texas; but even excused absences count toward the maximum allowable. the only real difference between excused and unexcused is that if the absence is excused the student is allowed to make up any missed work.

Actually, they can make up for missed work with unexcused absences, as well. Since they've changed the policy on how absences are dealt with, there is no real difference between excused and unexcused unless you actually reach that 9+ absence mark and have to go before the appeals board.

[linguist]

This is a bad argument. Students shouldn't take any days off just because they might get sick? If people stopped taking time off from their lives just because something might happen, no one would ever do something fun. I'm not going to avoid taking vacation at work just because I might get sick later (and no, I don't get vacation or sick time yet, so it is an accurate comparison).

once more, if you'd actually paid attention to the argument, i didn't say they shouldn't take time off because they might get sick. however, if they do take time off, and then they do get sick, and the cumulative absences push them over the limit, they should be prepared to deal with the consequences of their decision to take time off.