Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 401 posts

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#241

Post by partiallypro »

silverquiet wrote: post #199
mikewarot wrote: post #152

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.

Every generation says this, they still showed up and did the work. Do you honestly think a teenager that was drafted into WW1 wasn't scared for their future? What about people in the Spanish Flu or Polio epidemics? People in the 50s thought we'd all die in nuclear war. It's so annoying that people think our circumstances are worse than our ancestors. They aren't, unless you're literally at war, your life is better than anyone before you.

Anyhow, kids are skipping school because their parents allow them to, it has nothing to do with "climate change," "COVID," or "the future." Parents should be heavily punished for truancy of their children, it's a form of child abuse/neglect. That's regardless of income, poor kids can't get out of poverty if they have no means to do so. That can be unpopular, it's irrelevant if it is. Kamala Harris got flack for that, but it's absolutely good to punish parents that allow this. If you disagree, you live in a bubble.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#242

Post by bombcar »

wildrhythms wrote: post #134
mminer237 wrote: post #111

Talking with our local school administrators, this does seem to be the biggest challenge they're facing. From their point of view, it's just caused by (typically poorer) parents who don't care about their kids' education and saw how it seemed to be optional during COVID and so just don't make their kids go if they don't feel like it. It's really sad, and it sounds incredibly hard for anyone else to do anything about.

This is the first comment I see directing the problem at the parents, where I believe it rightly belongs. Is it not the parent's responsibility to make sure their child gets to school safely and on time every day?

What do you do when the parents can't or won't?

Or take an example of a high school student who adamantly refuses to attend school, do you eventually just let him "get away with it" or do you put him in a correctional facility?

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#243

Post by Nextgrid »

gilbetron wrote: post #94

My wife and I have noticed this, and it is really bizarre because it is across all kinds of demographics. We consider school mandatory for our son, except for medical reasons or significant events (funeral, for instance). Nearly all of his friends, even those that have teacher parents, will often be out of school, "because we wanted to go skiing" or "didn't feel like it today". I don't get it at all, like I didn't ge…

> still won't turn in homework and regularly get Bs and Cs and their parents just shrug

> feel guilty that we don't push him harder to do advanced work.

Can you take an A or “advanced work” to the deli and exchange it for a sandwich?

The people you are criticizing realised the pointlessness of it all and that extra work (or knowledge) beyond a baseline doesn’t make a measurable difference worth the extra effort.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#244

Post by donatj »

My high school had a maximum of three absences per quarter or you would automatically fail your classes and have to appeal. As a perennially sick kid, this meant I just went to school super sick, all the time. I’m not sure that’s better for anyone.

Getting my tonsils removed as an adult was a literal life changer. I used to get strep 6 to 10 times a year. I have not had it since.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#246

Post by anon291 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #227
mikewarot wrote: post #152

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 feel that people that graduated high school in 2020 had the worst experience (at least in the US) of any cohort in at least 50 years. They didn't get to experience really the end of high school, and those that started college in the fall didn't really get to experience the beginning of college, when many people make lifelong friends. Now they're graduating in 2024, where the vibe on many campuses is one of division…

I think you got your years wrong

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#247

Post by anon291 »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #197
darby_eight wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Oh goodness... This must be satire.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#248

Post by detourdog »

kube-system wrote: post #140
jawns wrote: 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…

I was in high school 4 decades ago was chronically absent. I absolutely hated school and it really only provided unmanageable stress for me. I was entirely focused on getting to college. I was able to attend an art school which seemed to have a high population of un-teachable students.

I loved college and was able to learn. I didn't get great grades but I was participating in the education process.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#249

Post by bombcar »

geraldhh wrote: post #232
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #100

By compartmentalizing school to a square on a zoom call for 2+ years why are they surprised when the students treat it like a square on a zoom call.

i wonder if videoconferencing also devalues the workplace

It certainly can; but it's less the video calls and more the endless meetings that they enable.

Dilbert talked about pointless meetings 25 years ago; Zoom has made it more prevalent.

At least if you're "off camera" you can just mute yourself and get some real work done.

Post reply on HN