Strategically missing school

[Anonymous]

I was talking to another mom who has older kids in college. It somehow came up that she let her kids miss school in high school if there was going to be a sub, an assembly, an in class work day, etc. so that her kids could finish work for another class. Her kids were in the most rigorous classes so benefited from that extra time.

I just asked my son who is my oldest and in AP/honors classes and he said that several students do the same. There might be a really hard test on a Friday and subs in other classes or not as much going in like watching a documentary so it seems to him a couple of kids will have their parents report that they are sick. So those students get the weekend to study for hard test, feedback from friends what was on the test, and have more time to complete other assignments.

How common is this?

[Anonymous]

Clever

[Anonymous]

feedback from friends what was on the test

this is called cheating.

[Anonymous]

I used to do that. If my high school ever added up my dentist visits and doctor’s appointments, they would have thought something was seriously wrong.

[Anonymous]

Great time management!

[Anonymous]

Yes this is called cheating if they’re asking for intel on the test.

[Anonymous]

Well this kind of time management skill was necessary in college and grad school- figure out what classes, sessions etc to prioritize...

[Anonymous]

I have an 11th grader who has a tough schedule and almost always call in “sick” on half days so they can catch up on sleep and school work.

[Anonymous]

Nope, no way.

[Anonymous]

Missing an assembly or a catch up day or a "wellness day" to take a trip or to study or see the orthodontist is smart. No worries here.

Getting "intel" about a test and scheming to get more time is cheating. Tremendously unethical. Imagine being a kid whose parent PRAISES this type of behavior?

[Anonymous]

My kids were only able to do this on a couple of days since the beginning of the year - there always seems to be an important lesson going on in some subject, and they hate getting other people's notes, so they only skip if the entire day is given over to a useless feel-good event.

I would like to insist here that students strategically skipping class to work more efficiently demonstrates superior communication, prioritizing and time-management skills. There is nothing wrong with it. My kids just want the content from the teacher directly, and perhaps that shows a little less flexibility than they should have, or more perfectionism and anxiety.

[Anonymous]

That is smart OP. Parents who know what they are doing tend to do this, so their kids don't have to participate in the high school bs that doesn't mean anything.

[Anonymous]

By time my kids could drive I was fine with this sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

I’m not a fan of teaching kids it’s fine to lie to get some small advantage. If they need all this extra time then their classes are too hard or their schedule is not ok right or they need to learn time management. Skipping tests to “get feedback” is cheating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By time my kids could drive I was fine with this sort of thing.

Me again - I don't mean skipping tests though.