Reply to Who leaked the MCPS attendance documents to the Washington Post?

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Who leaked the MCPS attendance documents to the Washington Post? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]When  I was in MCPS (ok, 20 years ago), 3 unexcused tardies = 1 unexcused absence, and 5 unexcused absences = fail the course.

[b]If someone was out due to medical issues or the like, that was an _excused_ absence so they wouldn't fail the course.[/b]

It sounds like these are unexcused absences. [b]Why aren't the rules being strictly enforced?[/b] It's unfair to both good students and bad students if the rules being set aren't being followed.

Do these same students skipping school all the time think they can pull the same student when they have a real job? We're not preparing students for the real world if we raise them with that mindset.[/quote]

There was a PP on page one who had a great, and nuanced, response to this very issue. When rules are STRICTLY enforced, the burden falls on those with the least capacity to work the system.

But let's take one step back. What is the goal of public education? I would posit the goal is for every child in the system to leave with certain base skills that will allow them to be a functioning member of our society.

Now, if we fail the kid who is late because they were working at their parents' restaurant the night before, and we fail the kid who left school early because they are the emergency contact for a younger sibling who got sick at school, then we are actually failing society as well.

Strict enforcement of the rules works great if your only goal is serving the 75% who turn up to school regularly and on time. But[b] if you want to capture the remaining 25%, there has to be some flexibility. [/b]

This! These are the vulnerable kids that we claim to be most concerned about. Let’s act in ways that are constructive rather than punitive.

[/quote][/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics