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School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

nytimes.com

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Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#281

Post by albrewer »

mydriasis wrote: post #160

Talked to my niece about this, she's highschool age. She says that during covid, her school set up all of the infrastructure for remote learning, and they _still offer it_ -- that is, if she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to go to class much at all, save for the school's attendance policy... which means that while she has a 4.0, she's also near truancy. For a lot of folks, school was never good. If I had the choic…

I didn't find this out until I had already graduated, but my school district had a self-paced high school where you could take classes at your own pace. It was meant for disadvantaged kids who could not, for various reason, be in-class for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

However, another reason you could go is if you wanted to graduate early. My wife finished her high school degree just a few months after her 17th birthday; 2 years of "school" were completed in 3 months. Had I gone a similar route, I could have been done with a doctorate degree by 23 instead of just finishing undergrad.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#282

Post by alt227 »

williamcotton wrote: post #212
i80and wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're sneezing and sniffling, please for the love of god, do not go to the office. Even before the pandemic we had that policy, and it's a very good default. No, colds are not the end of the world, but they are genuinely miserable, and you will share it. And if money is all somebody cares about, well, colds also diminish work output, so one ne'er-do-well going in sick can screw up an entire department's metrics o…

My office basically dictates that we show up regardless. Why? We work in legal services and our clients depend heavily on us and with massive consequences when we make mistakes. Court mandated deadlines don’t care about a runny nose. I see no measurable impact on performance.

> Court mandated deadlines don’t care about a runny nose.

No, but whatever industry you work in and whoever your employer is, they should have enough staff to cover minor illnesses and absenses. If you are off sick and your company misses a court deadline thats on your companies poor staff management, not on you for being ill and staying home to avoid infecting coworkers.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#283

Post by seneca »

elboru wrote: post #275
kube-system wrote: post #140

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…

> I don't think having a cold or two is going to put many people in this category. Have you been around kids post COVID? Winters after the pandemic have been a nightmare for many parents. My nephews have basically been "sick" the whole winter (getting sick, staying home, recovering, going back to school, getting a new virus, repeat).

I have heard this from so many people, all over the country. I've heard many parents saying they're getting repeatedly sick as their kids bring diseases home.

Has anyone seen any actual research into why this is? It seems pretty serious.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#284

Post by elboru »

kube-system wrote: post #200
christkv wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The local hospitals in my community have been full of hospitalized kids with different respiratory issues this winter. My doctor commented that this is a post-pandemic effect.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#285

Post by swed420 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #202
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…

This hypothesis doesn't at all jive with the data in the article, which is about chronic absenteeism, and which shows that absentee rates have absolutely exploded. This is not just about people with the sniffles not coming to school.

How is the mental health of these chronically absent kids?

Surely nonstop COVID reinfections aren't doing their brains any favors.

https://whn.global/scientific/spectrum-of-covid-19-from-asym...

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#286

Post by bombcar »

trgn wrote: post #132
willis936 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those ahead don't need additional benefit. We should be working to bring the left half of the distribution into the fold. If a student is so great that they're skipping out of boredom then there's little that a public institution should do to help them. They can go out with a head start and go get em.

Agreed. Just shift them a year ahead, or in an AP track, or bury them in extracurriculars. It really doesn't seem that hard to me, to accommodate a precocious kid, especially in large schools or large public school districts. (shoot me down if I don't know what I'm talking about). The studious ones will be ok, has it ever been different?

Year-ahead works in high school where you're in various different classes anyway, but it can be harmful to the students in other ways, especially earlier.

Just because you're smart enough to perform at a 10th grade level doesn't mean you're mature enough or will fit in.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#287

Post by madamelic »

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…

In addition, the constant blaring reminder that adults all around you will not protect you physically if it comes to that.

The fact that "school shooter hero" even has to be a term is absurd and embarassing for us as a country.

Even when I was in high school over a decade ago, the fact that we could have a school shooter was constantly present and I was always running exit plans. I do have anxiety issues but I can't imagine what it is like for children now.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#288

Post by vundercind »

lupusreal wrote: post #236
pavel_lishin wrote: post #164

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…

With one hand I can count all the times I was ever taken out of school in all my twelve years for any unexcused absences like these. Some of these seem farcical. Vacation lining up with my cousins' breaks? That's what summer break is for dude. Truth is, some families just don't take education seriously.

I also find that attitude wild. Missing school by choice was something to be done only in extraordinary circumstances. Word of kids being gone for long vacations and such would get that look (“oh, they’re those sorts”) and a disappointed head shake from my parents.

(My parents’ background was dirt poor, rural, and white, to set the scene—but skipping by choice was something not to be taken lightly, you go to school, that’s how it is)

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#289

Post by linuxftw »

verisimi wrote: post #186
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…

> Is it possible that expectations around attendance have never been reasonable or even safe? When I read this, I thought you were making a more general point, rather than about missing school on account of sickness. To the general point, I think schooling is entirely unreasonable, and a terrible way to bring up humans. Though, I obviously think it is valuable to learn to read and write, know maths and certain tools…

Government schools are like government housing: you only use it if you lack the means for literally any other option.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#290

Post by partiallypro »

silverquiet wrote: post #280
partiallypro wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'm not blaming the kids. I'm blaming the parents, I felt like I made this pretty explicit in my second paragraph. Virtually no kid wants to go to school. That's irrelevant. Some kids don't want to eat anything but junk food. You shouldn't let them. You're the parent. You cannot allow your kid to be truant. You are nearly guaranteeing them poverty, that is abuse and neglect, and it should be punished. There are s…

It's funny - in a sense I pretty much agree with you; I had to be cajoled into school and everything as well and found it fundamentally miserable. Certainly I understand that without an education the future is quite grim (especially for me as I have some physical disability). But after that treatment, I decided it was not something I could ever put a child through, so in that sense I have some sympathy for these pare…

I think people should have kids, society and humanity cannot survive without children and children can be a gift. However, if you're going to be a bad parent and don't see their lives as your responsibility, not just for their own sake but for the sake of society... don't have kids. But if you do, and you -allow- your kid to be truant or become a criminal, etc., you should be punished and held personally liable.
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