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School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

nytimes.com

191–200 of 401 posts

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#191
post #18

Is it possible that expectations around attendance have never been reasonable or even safe? In an ideal world, people shouldn't go to work or school when they are sick. Not only does it slow their recovery, but in the case of communicable diseases, it spreads the illness. Yet a lot of schools have released post-pandemic guidance about how students should still come to school with minor illnesses. And most workplaces…

> Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason. I don't think having a cold or two is going to put many people in this category. Decades ago when I was in public school, the kids who were chronically absent like this were the ones who clearly had some behavioral issues or problems at home. The linked study also demonstrates that the rates are…

This winter has been brutal with kids. One bug after another.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#192
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you're being downvoted. Education is important, missing a week can set a student back by a long way. Holidays are fun and if you have the resources they are certainly worth doing, but not at the cost of keeping up with a child's education. If you can't afford the holiday at the prices when schools are off, maybe you can't afford the holiday! There are plenty of affordable holidays always available and ki…

> Education is important, missing a week can set a student back by a long way. It will set some back, it won’t set others back at all. Telling a kid who can keep up or who is ahead of the class that they can’t take a vacation because another kid couldn’t keep up if they took a vacation is bizarre. It’s like saying that someone who’s ahead of where the class is needs to go to summer school because a kid in the class w…

If your kids can miss a week of school and not be impacted, you should investigate better schools.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there has been any studies done showing correlation between walking/biking to school and school success. Walking a mile takes about 20 minutes and personally I find that walking to work sets me up for success way better than driving does.

When I was a kid those who lived in walking distance walked or biked. Those who didn’t was bused. It was just about geography. Rural area though.

It was the same for me in a suburban area. We walked or biked to middle and high school until I got a car. My parents lived close to my middle school and a bus didn’t come to our neighborhood.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because those breaks don't line up with things like the solar eclipse. Because those breaks don't line up with other cousins' breaks. Because those breaks don't line up with great-grandma's 95th birthday, and she lives a full day's journey away. Because those breaks don't line up with your work schedule, or your partner's work schedule. Because my child is excelling academically, and I absolutely don't think that she…

All of those situations existed in decades past. Why do parents think that school doesn't provide as much value as they used to?

People got pulled from class for vacations all the time when I was a kid.

It wasn't super common, but it was common enough that there was a standard procedure around it (basically you'd get the classwork/homework that you'd be missing and be expected to present it upon return).

I think a bigger part now is that schools are somewhat more overloaded, so missing class puts you "out of sync" and there's nothing to help you catch back up. When I was young the parents were expected to do that: I don't know how common it is now.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#195

Kids have been soaked in the news that we're all doomed because of climate change, and they won't ever be able to afford the American dream, no matter what. Consider the filter bubble your friend from the other side of the political aisle is in. The kids have their own and they don't have any real life experiences to weigh against it. They know they don't have a future. They have no evidence to the contrary. Why woul…

Look this sounds really good on the internet, but this is disconnected from reality.

The kids chronically truant are POOR and have no structural support at home. They are not depressed upper-middle-class-kids. The more-informed (albeit misinformed) demographic you're describing is not the problem.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#196
post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you take your kids on a vacation during school? There are plenty of breaks during the year including all of summer.

Why would you prioritize making your kids sit in school over taking them and doing something fun like a vacation, given the option? My first thought reading the headline was that more people are realizing the irrelevance of school and work, and prioritizing other things.

How will people make money to be able to afford to do those things?

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Economics and climate change? I'd be slacking off because it is clear that AI is going to be the brain job top dog by the time I get to career stage.

I see a lot more kids mocking AI on TikTok than fearing it, but I might be looking in the wrong place.

Fear it? I would be embracing it. Send my allocated AI entity to work and send me the checks. In a sense it is like having a body double go to school for you.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#198
post #18

Is it possible that expectations around attendance have never been reasonable or even safe? In an ideal world, people shouldn't go to work or school when they are sick. Not only does it slow their recovery, but in the case of communicable diseases, it spreads the illness. Yet a lot of schools have released post-pandemic guidance about how students should still come to school with minor illnesses. And most workplaces…

There is this liminal state of "sick, but not too sick to perform". A lot of us are fortunate enough to work from home if we've just got the sniffles, which lets us perform but not infect the office. For those of us who can't just do work or school remote, I sure wish we could at least do like Japan and mask up. It seems like it should be common courtesy.

[flagged]

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#199

Kids have been soaked in the news that we're all doomed because of climate change, and they won't ever be able to afford the American dream, no matter what. Consider the filter bubble your friend from the other side of the political aisle is in. The kids have their own and they don't have any real life experiences to weigh against it. They know they don't have a future. They have no evidence to the contrary. Why woul…

I'm approaching 40 and I'm pretty worried about climate change and don't really think I can afford the American dream. I can't imagine staring down six or seven decades into the future at this point.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason. I don't think having a cold or two is going to put many people in this category. Decades ago when I was in public school, the kids who were chronically absent like this were the ones who clearly had some behavioral issues or problems at home. The linked study also demonstrates that the rates are…

This winter has been brutal with kids. One bug after another.

If it were simply that, wouldn't we see a similar effect across socioeconomic backgrounds? Colds don't discriminate.
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