Perfect attendance award, yay or nay?

[FlightlessDuck]

Nay.

"Yay! You either didn't get sick, or came to school and infected everyone around you. Have an award!"

 

[fairestoneofall]

my DH's granny got perfect attendance for her entire school career.

i will say that my DD rarely gets sick. she's still missed a day of school here and there. middle DS however, tends to get whatever is going around. he just has a lower immune system.

 

[joviroxx]

I do believe there are kids that just don't get sick. I don't really think there is anything wrong with the award. It isn't any better or worse than those superlative awards.

That said, my kids would never get it. I always have a "play hooky with mom" day for each of them each year. Its our little ritual and they never know which day I pick. Makes it fun and they each get their own.

 

[eliza61]

I think they are stupid. If you are sick, you should be home, and I'm also in the camp that no kid is going to go that many years without getting sick. We don't do "mental health days" in our house, but the kids do get strep or other bugs from time to time.

And if by some freak of nature the kid actually never did get sick, I'd question exactly what you are rewarding, other than dumb luck.

which could be said for just about any thing. Some kids are born with great IQ's isn't that also just dumb luck?

My dh worked almost 25 years without a sick day then boom, acute myeloid cancer. He got awards at 5, 10 and 15 years for perfect attendance.

So you would question what they are rewarding, do you also question the folks who have admitted to encouraging their kids to miss school "just because"? Why is this any less "dumb"?

 

[luvsJack]

There is a bit of a purpose behind these awards and they are nothing new for "this generation".

My niece's dd strives to get this award just as her mom did in school. DNiece didn't go to school sick and neither does DGNiece, but neither will miss because of a headache, minor cramps, late night up the night before, vacations, etc.

In fact my niece was trying to plan a cruise for her family and was going to take the kids out of school for a few days because its so much cheaper. Her dd begged her mom not to because she didn't want to miss school. So they are going in the summer.

Other kids miss at the drop of a hat, fake being sick, skip school, etc. Now, granted some of the ones that will do that are NOT going to stop because they want this award; but there are those that will not be tempted to do those things because they do want the award.

I don't think it should be awarded above academic awards, but I do think it has a purpose.

 

[DopeyDame]

Many people on this thread think differently. They think that I must be sending my DSs to school with the plague when they truly got sick on weekends and holidays. .

I think you're missing the point of the people who are against the award (including me). I'll totally believe that there are some kids who can make it through a year (or even a whole career) without being sick on a school day. BUT, you give out rewards both to recognize someone and also to inspire the rest of the community to strive for that type of accomplishment. By giving an award for perfect attendence, you're encouraging kids to come to school everyday - even if they are sick. That encouragement is dangerous and counterproductive to a healthy and happy school.

 

[disykat]

I've had years where I've had perfect attendance at school or work, but I can't really imagine going 13 years (K - 12) without missing a day.

I don't see that as an accomplishment, but rather good fortune.

People who are going to "skip" school for reasons other than illness aren't going to be swayed by attendance awards. People who are sick should stay home!

 

[MamaLema]

Perfect attendance award - yay or nay?

nay

 

[Mkrop]

I think you're missing the point of the people who are against the award (including me). I'll totally believe that there are some kids who can make it through a year (or even a whole career) without being sick on a school day. BUT, you give out rewards both to recognize someone and also to inspire the rest of the community to strive for that type of accomplishment. By giving an award for perfect attendence, you're encouraging kids to come to school everyday - even if they are sick. That encouragement is dangerous and counterproductive to a healthy and happy school.

I am not missing the point...I said I dont care one way or another about the award. If that award has some kids/parents sending their sick kiddos to school shame on them....but several posters have made the assumption that just bc Child A has received the award it must be bc their crappy parents sent them into school sick.It couldnt possibly be about the child getting sick other days or just being relatively healthy...no it has to be that they went to school ill!!!! My child has won the award once and would probably win other years except for vacations. If my child is sick, he stays home, but like I said we have had the good fortune of having him just get sick on holidays.

 

[GJM]

My DS is in 6th grade - he just got the "perfect attendance" award. He hasn't missed a day in the past 4 years and the 1 day he did miss was because DH had surgery and he had to miss, he doesn't let us forget it either!

Honestly he hasn't been sick at all - and the time he missed before that was because of pink eye. Maybe it was all the years in daycare that has built up his immunity. Now I hope I am not jinxing myself by saying he never gets sick!

We have asked him if he wanted to take a day off here or there and he doesn't, afraid he will miss too much work. I know people where they let their kids take off all the days allowed and they are not sick.

Our school just gave out an award for "Most Common Sense" - I would hope my child has common sense without getting an award for it. They had so many other awards like that. How do you pick a kid out of 300 - 400 kids for that award.

 

[DopeyDame]

Our school just gave out an award for "Most Common Sense" -rd.

Oh my goodness that made me laugh out loud! I wonder what the criteria was for that award. Do you know the kid who won? Does he, indeed, have above average common sense?

 

[onescgirl]

I think more kids go to school sick because the parents do not want to or unable to get off work to stay home with the child rather than for the goal of receiving a certificate or medal.
Awards or not, there will always be kids at school sick.
Even though there are truly kids out there that have great immune systems that do not get sick, the award is for perfect attendance not perfect health.

I remember a friend in high school that did not go to school because she was having a bad hair day & her mom let her stay out. She would lay out a lot & then the trait followed her into adulthood work ethics.

I know people do get sick, & I understand if someone truly is, but I get so many adult students that believe they should lay out of school for any little excuse. I give out 'Perfect Attendance' awards to my adult students because I believe they should be awarded for their work ethics.

 

[Christine]

I know people do get sick, & I understand if someone truly is, but I get so many adult students that believe they should lay out of school for any little excuse. I give out 'Perfect Attendance' awards to my adult students because I believe they should be awarded for their work ethics.

And employers REALLY appreciate perfect or near-perfect attendance. It is a trait that you like to see on the job.

 

[GJM]

Oh my goodness that made me laugh out loud! I wonder what the criteria was for that award. Do you know the kid who won? Does he, indeed, have above average common sense?

I didn't know the kid that won it, they also had Most Patience, Best Friend and about 20 other awards like that.

 

[MichelleVW]

How do you know that YOUR child didn't give the bug to poor Mary? Kids are like walking petri dishes!

Because I knew Mary's mother and the time frame when the girls were sick, the comment at the awards presentation just sent me over the edge.

Mom would brag all the time about sending the child to school sick.

 

[Elinor Dashwood]

Because I knew Mary's mother and the time frame when the girls were sick, the comment at the awards presentation just sent me over the edge.

Mom would brag all the time about sending the child to school sick.

Ew, that's awful. Why would she brag about it, that's just weird.

 

[ccgirl]

I am not missing the point...I said I dont care one way or another about the award. If that award has some kids/parents sending their sick kiddos to school shame on them....but several posters have made the assumption that just bc Child A has received the award it must be bc their crappy parents sent them into school sick.It couldnt possibly be about the child getting sick other days or just being relatively healthy...no it has to be that they went to school ill!!!! My child has won the award once and would probably win other years except for vacations. If my child is sick, he stays home, but like I said we have had the good fortune of having him just get sick on holidays.

Perhaps it is also to get kids to stop skipping school for mental health breaks or vacations. Either way, I think it's good to reward them.

 

[mickeyboat]

eta - I don't know how the thumbs down icon got on this post. I did not mean to put it there and I can't figure out how to remove it. Sorry.

I think you're missing the point of the people who are against the award (including me). I'll totally believe that there are some kids who can make it through a year (or even a whole career) without being sick on a school day. BUT, you give out rewards both to recognize someone and also to inspire the rest of the community to strive for that type of accomplishment. By giving an award for perfect attendence, you're encouraging kids to come to school everyday - even if they are sick. That encouragement is dangerous and counterproductive to a healthy and happy school.

Because it is so rare to never be sick, I truly don't believe that the perfect attendance award is going to encourage sick kids to go to school except in a very small percentage of cases. Heck, I remember friends dragging themselves to school sick because they didn't want to miss a soccer game or a test review. I don't remember any friends who refused to stay home because they coveted the perfect attendance award.

Awards do encourage and inspire accomplishment. The perfect attendance award encourages children to practice healthy habits like hand-washing and getting flu shots so they don't get sick. It encourages children to not skip school because they are having a bad hair day or because they want to sleep in late. Yes some of it is luck, but some of any achievement is luck.

There are also detriments to giving out any kind of award. Academic awards might encourage a student to cheat on a test. Athletic awards might encourage an athlete to injure himself. Competition for awards may result in hard feelings. Failure to win an award may cause self-esteem issues. This is the nature of awards.

 

[HM]

I could have had a perfect attendance award in 5th grade, but my parents pulled me out of the last two days of class for a trip. I was mad. It meant a lot to me.

I was one of those kids that hardly ever got sick. It would be interesting to see what my actual attendance record was in school.

 

[SideshowBob]

Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken, Jr. ... I believe that their "perfect attendance" was surely thought highly of. I have no problem seeing an award for someone who proves their reliability over time by consistently showing up for the job or school. I appreciate and admire that in those working for me.

There is a great Anthony Bourdain quote on this topic but I think it would be too colorful from memory.