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School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

nytimes.com

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Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#321

Post by madamelic »

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…

Long term, high school doesn't matter, college really doesn't either. One can accelerate the other which can accelerate life but long-term, if your kid sucks at life, no amount of school diligence will solve that. Inversely, if your kid sucks at school but is a good worker & intelligent, their school credentials won't matter.

Past the first job, credential specifics stop mattering really. No one will care whether you got an A or B+ in Calculus in junior year.

If the kid is doing alright and isn't getting into too much trouble, I don't see the issue of letting them play hookey with parent permission especially in their final years.

My parents had a policy that if we had good grades, we could skip days occassionally in our senior year. We'd take the day off and just pal around on errands if we wanted.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#322

Post by taeric »

lolinder wrote: post #255
taeric wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the impression it is more that many students that feel they were above the system are projecting other reasons into this, to be frank. Especially in forums like this one. Combine that with somehow we seem to have far less empathy and charity than in the past, and you get this sort of situation. And it isn't even that folks are wrong; but evidence is fairly clear that nobody has a solution for education that wor…

Sorry, what? What does lack of empathy have to do with taking time out from school to go visit Grandma on her 95th birthday?

Lack of empathy for the how hard it is to run school. This place is dominated by people that know how things should be done and how things should be run. At large, they are wrong.

I'm open to the idea that I'm wrong on this, of course. Just peruse the top posts and you will see all sorts of assertions about how this isn't actually a problem. There are more than a few pointing out that schooling is irrelevant.

Again, these aren't necessarily wrong. But they are ignoring a whole lot more than they are talking to.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#323

Post by trgn »

bombcar wrote: post #286
trgn wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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

Makes sense.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#325

Post by alt227 »

ptero wrote: post #154
bluedevil2k wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less homework? My teenage children are in honors and AP classes and barely have any homework. I think they should have far more homework. When I was their age I spent a few hours a day on homework. Parents I talk to feel the same way. Give the kids more work to do at home to keep them off their phones and YouTube.

I envy you! Both of my kids had unhealthy amount of high school homework. I know many parents whose kids stayed up until 1-2am at least once a week. We expressed strong opinions to our kids that sleep is way more important than getting an extra grade bump, but many kids still trade sleep for a better grade.

Who are these kids? I have never met a child who would avoid sleep and stay up half the night to do homework.

/slight sarcasm.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#327

Post by monkey_monkey »

workingdog wrote: post #324

I'd rather my kids go with me to Japan than spend a week learning that a new gender just dropped.

Looking at your comment history, your son might be better off at school than with you.

'London historically is a nice city. It's too bad that rampant criminal enterprise has been imported into it.' Jeeez.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#328

Post by lsaferite »

Bostonian wrote: post #297

Put the # of days missed each year on the high school transcript and allow employers to filter job applicants on this basis. Make federal student aid for college conditional on having few high school absences. That would reward attendance.

That would codify the bullshit "perfect attendance' awards schools insist on handing out. Those kinds of incentives discourage people from isolating when they are sick. One of the many drivers of schools being breeding grounds for illness.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#329

Post by Bostonian »

lsaferite wrote: post #328
Bostonian wrote: post #297

Put the # of days missed each year on the high school transcript and allow employers to filter job applicants on this basis. Make federal student aid for college conditional on having few high school absences. That would reward attendance.

That would codify the bullshit "perfect attendance' awards schools insist on handing out. Those kinds of incentives discourage people from isolating when they are sick. One of the many drivers of schools being breeding grounds for illness.

Employers would decide how to use the absence information. Maybe 10 or fewer absences in a year would be considered ok, but 50 or more a red flag.

Re: School absences have ‘exploded’ almost everywhere

#330

Post by Aachen »

whiterknight wrote: post #250
Aachen wrote: post #17

> Everywhere * in the USA

Maybe you should read a site tailored to your local interests instead of one focused on Silicon Valley and adjacent cities.

Local interests? HN is a local interests site? That's an interesting take if you look at the stories being submitted, those making it to the homepage, or the diversity of commenters

Anyway even if you're from the USA, "everywhere" is still not a useful title: for all anyone knows, it means countries around the world. I'd equally expect our local news to specify "in Nederland" if that's what they mean. Opening such a site now, indeed the homepage specifies Zeeuwse beaches are the most polluted among Dutch beaches, it doesn't say "of all beaches". Another one says family of Israeli soldiers in the Netherlands are receiving more threats, rather than such family everywhere. I can't find any headline that's written like this

The title is simply somewhere between vague and misleading

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