OK, you have hit on a pet peeve of mine. I want to preface my remarks by saying I have worked over 10 years in the field of Human Resource management (what other field focuses on absenteeism and tardiness more?) and currently I teach college. I truly understand the importance of good attendance.
I also appreciate that you pointed out some funding is based on attendance because I did not realize this.
My question is this: Why do schools only reward "perfect attendance"? Isn't "good attendance" a great thing to reward?
My third grade daughter almost cried earlier this year when I kept her home with a fever because she knew, yet again, she was not going to get one of those medals.
It irritates me that I can go to my child's elementary "awards program" and the only kids' names that get called out are those with "perfect attendance". It bothers me that while my children are on the A-B honor roll, the parent that gets to sit there all smug and proud is the parent that dropped their kid off with a hacking cough or worse. Now, I know some kids earning this reward are actually well the whole year. My 5th grade son got it once. It was a total fluke.
The other thing is this: if district attendance gets noticed with funding, isn't it by the day and not by "perfect attendance"? AS a parent, if my child has already missed a day due to being ill, and I want to maybe leave town early before a holiday, I am much more likely to not place importance on that one day since the attendance has already been blown. But, if there's something out there like a 'good attendance' reward, that might change my mind. For example, it could be by percent, or by nine weeks.
I don't know, I just think that if attendance is so important, there ought to be a better positive reinforcement system in place for encouraging these good behaviors.
It's not all or nothing. And that definitely is more like the "real world" of college and then later, employment.
Thanks for having the blog and the opportunity to vent.
We value your input on this important topic. It is important to remind parents that we do want their children to stay home when they are ill. Our guideline is that they should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours. We also see the importance of having students attend school because we realize the important link between attendance and student success. We will work with our campuses to find innovative ways to value students with high attendance (and not just perfect attendance) as a means of encouragement. Again, thank you for your input. We value open, honest communication.
2 comments:
OK, you have hit on a pet peeve of mine. I want to preface my remarks by saying I have worked over 10 years in the field of Human Resource management (what other field focuses on absenteeism and tardiness more?) and currently I teach college. I truly understand the importance of good attendance.
I also appreciate that you pointed out some funding is based on attendance because I did not realize this.
My question is this: Why do schools only reward "perfect attendance"? Isn't "good attendance" a great thing to reward?
My third grade daughter almost cried earlier this year when I kept her home with a fever because she knew, yet again, she was not going to get one of those medals.
It irritates me that I can go to my child's elementary "awards program" and the only kids' names that get called out are those with "perfect attendance". It bothers me that while my children are on the A-B honor roll, the parent that gets to sit there all smug and proud is the parent that dropped their kid off with a hacking cough or worse. Now, I know some kids earning this reward are actually well the whole year. My 5th grade son got it once. It was a total fluke.
The other thing is this: if district attendance gets noticed with funding, isn't it by the day and not by "perfect attendance"? AS a parent, if my child has already missed a day due to being ill, and I want to maybe leave town early before a holiday, I am much more likely to not place importance on that one day since the attendance has already been blown. But, if there's something out there like a 'good attendance' reward, that might change my mind. For example, it could be by percent, or by nine weeks.
I don't know, I just think that if attendance is so important, there ought to be a better positive reinforcement system in place for encouraging these good behaviors.
It's not all or nothing. And that definitely is more like the "real world" of college and then later, employment.
Thanks for having the blog and the opportunity to vent.
We value your input on this important topic. It is important to remind parents that we do want their children to stay home when they are ill. Our guideline is that they should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours. We also see the importance of having students attend school because we realize the important link between attendance and student success. We will work with our campuses to find innovative ways to value students with high attendance (and not just perfect attendance) as a means of encouragement. Again, thank you for your input. We value open, honest communication.
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