After a mother shared the ridiculous reason that students at her son’s school are penalized for attendance, people worried that the school district could be promoting a harmful culture that emphasizes school and work above everything else — even health.
However, others suggested that attendance penalizations result from inadequate funding and that teachers truly do not want to punish students, but their hands are tied.
The mom said that her son’s school penalizes students for missing class time for doctor’s appointments.
The mother revealed the rather ludicrous attendance policy on Instagram Threads.
“My son’s school district has an attendance policy that penalizes you for missing *minutes* of the day. If you leave an hour early for an appointment, you will be docked for that hour,” she wrote.
Now, she worries about the message the school district is potentially sending to the kids.
“How are we supposed to teach our kids that their personal lives and physical and mental health are important with these types of rules?”
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Many people agreed with the mom that the school’s attendance policy may be promoting a toxic mindset regarding work-life balance.
“That line of thinking runs counter to the purpose of schools, which is to grind out worker drones or carceral slaves,” one Instagram user commented.
“So ridiculous. My kids’ school is doing this attendance ‘challenge’ thing for September. It’s dumb. Kids get sick. Doctor and dentist appointments happen,” another user shared.
“That is absolutely bonkers!! My kids have therapy and other appointments constantly, if they were tracked for how many minutes they were gone they would be severely punished. I would be fighting with them for sure,” another user added.
However, others suggested that the attendance policy was likely tied to the school’s funding.
“In my state, school funding is tied to attendance. I’m betting your child’s school doesn’t want to promote a toxic work culture they are just underfunded and trying to maximize any money they can get from the state,” one teacher revealed.
Under the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) in the U.S., student enrollment is an essential part of determining school funding.
In many cases, school districts receive a portion of their funding based on students’ average daily attendance. Considering the U.S. is in the midst of an absenteeism crisis, it’s almost understandable that schools would be pushing the importance of attendance, even if most people would agree it’s ridiculous.
When students miss school regularly, it can reduce the school’s overall attendance numbers, which in turn may lead to a decrease in state and federal funding.
When schools utilize penalization threats for students to eliminate absenteeism, it may not at all be related to the student’s individual performance and all related to maximizing their total funding.
In most cases, teachers will understand if a student needs to leave school early or come in late if they have an appointment.
Life happens, and even the most dedicated workers and students fall ill from time to time and require a trip to the doctor, which they may have to *gasp* miss school for.
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Whatever a school’s funding situation is, it is not worth risking the health and well-being of the students and teachers who keep it running.
Instead of putting so much emphasis on attendance, children should be taught how to prioritize their well-being above all.
No amount of money should outweigh the health of students, and they should never be punished for seeking help and treatment.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
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