School Attendance Policy Rant

[Miss Jasmine]

Originally posted by Pin Wizard
"Oh please."?? What does that mean? Single moms don't have to worry? Hardly! And this comment is from another single mom due to being widowed.

That is not what I meant at all. I just wanted to clarify why straycat is a single mom (not that it matters, but there seemed to be an inference of another situation) and that her DS missing more than 4 days is not any where near educational neglect. I hate when legal terms start getting thrown around without a basis.

Since we are at it...

Originally posted by Pin Wizard
Wait until college. We're allowed three days per semester. Over that, you can be dropped.

I took classes in college that I was absent more than I was there...so this is not a true statement for all colleges (and yes I got As and Bs And no, this wasn't some second rate university )

 

[MerryPoppins]

I do care about school funding. I am also a teacher, so I think attendance is important. It's wrong to pull kids out of classes repeatedly for stupid reasons. It should be discouraged. However, I think a short, educational trip with the family (if homework is made up and the child is making good grades) should be acceptable. I know many teachers who agree with me. A kid who is making an A in a class shouldn't get an F because of attendance. If he is doing the work (which he obviously is if he is earning an A) then he should get the grade.

I've seen parents send sick kids back to school to avoid the trip to the doctor. To me that is worse than keeping them home for 3 or 4 days until they feel better, without going to the doctor. I can tell if my kids are too sick to go to school, and when a temperature breaks and they are feeling better it's safe to send them back. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure that one out. My doctor's office often admits that my kids don't need to come in when I give the symptoms over the phone, but I need that slip of paper. It's silly. Sending kids back to school with lice is horrible! That gives me goosebumps!

I see that we must agree to respectfully disagree. I'm not going to change my mind and neither are you.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

my college didn't have an attendance policy either,

but ALL accredited law schools have an attendance policy -- it's mandated by the ABA.

the rationale is that you don't just leanr from a book, you need interaction with a teacher.

 

[TimeforMe]

Originally posted by Briar Rose 7457
cheers for time for me.

Was this an attempt at sarcasm? If so, I'd like to know why. I don't think I said anything worthy of it

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

She was supporting you, not mocking you.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Originally posted by TimeforMe
Was this an attempt at sarcasm? If so, I'd like to know why. I don't think I said anything worthy of it

you misread my remark -- I agree with you.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by MerryPoppins
I do care about school funding. I am also a teacher, so I think attendance is important. It's wrong to pull kids out of classes repeatedly for stupid reasons. It should be discouraged. However, I think a short, educational trip with the family (if homework is made up and the child is making good grades) should be acceptable. I know many teachers who agree with me. A kid who is making an A in a class shouldn't get an F because of attendance. If he is doing the work (which he obviously is if he is earning an A) then he should get the grade.

I don't agree with that whole heartedly either. No, I don't think they should receive an "F." If they're missing too many classes, then they aren't participating as well as not being there. Attendance and participation count also. I could see changing that "A" to a "B" easily or a "B" to a "C."

 

[Doctor P]

FWIW, I have never had an attendance policy per se, but rather have always had a class participation grade. The other students in the class have a major input into the class participation grade (and the way I do it, it does not end up a popularity contest). Some students have the ability to make a significant contribution to the class when they are there, and their classmates overlook absences. Others who miss class regularly are heavily penalized by their classmates because the classmates end up carrying more of the load due to their absence.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Doctor P, I think participation grades are a good way to handle this. That would bring an A down, but wouldn't make a kid fail a class due to illness. I just think that is going way too far.

 

[jrmasm]

I always chalked attendence policies on the college level to the fragile ego's of some of the professors. Couldn't handle that some students don't need to attend their lectures in order to do well on the tests!!

 

[kylara]

Well some colleges have attendance policies. I have worked at two community colleges so far that have them....and they are not set by the faculty but by the college admin. Granted some professors ignore it, but all departments make sure you put it in the syllabus.

Personally, I don't think that they should have them, but then again, I would hate to think of a med student missing many of their classes.

 

[Planogirl]

My college certainly had attendance policies! And in retrospect, I'm glad that they did because it would have affected me if I would have missed too many classes. Class participation was a large part of our learning curve.

Our school district is VERY strict about attendance. I don't like it but I understand it. Many people try to circumvent the system and these policies are in place for them. They're not there for those persons who care about school but unfortunately they have to deal with the fallout of these rules. However, I would rather have a strict policy than a loose one because DS has learned that good attendance is a good thing.

That said, I see no sense in giving an "F" to a child due to illness if they attended most of the classes and their grades are OK. That's being a bit too inflexible IMO.