<p>As long as state funding is tied to attendance, the schools must encourage attendence.
True story: The PTO offers a $150 scholarship to seniors with perfect attendence for 4 years - quite a feat! They announced that one senior had met these qualifications, and a girl sitting next to son’s best friend said, “Who’s that loser??” just before son’s best friend stood up to accept his award. She was embarrassed, but son’s best friend has enjoyed both a good laugh and the money…</p>
<p>They are walking germ spreaders and you don’t want me to say what I think of their parents.</p>
<p>Wow! I had no idea there would be such strong feelings about this!</p>
<p>Well, “perfect attendence award” probably gets the award for the most ill-thought-out, ill-logical award…pun intended.</p>
<p>I think a nice little certificate is perfect.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why this girl is getting so much attention. I actually go to the same school as this girl, and she is really not the perfect angel that the media is portraying her to be. I really don’t understand how she got the perfect attendance either, I really don’t feel like she came to school everyday, but meh.</p>
<p>My mother and I nudged each other as the perfect attendance awards were given at the graduation ceremony on Wednesday evening. I’ve heard this repeated many times in my life…my grandmother said,“DO NOT ever come home with the perfect attendance award. That’s not the award I want my children to receive.” She was not a rigid person, she was fun, joyful and understanding.</p>
<p>OK - she was a bit extreme in her sentiment - and she endorsed ‘mental health days’ of which I am not a fan. I am a big believer in work ethic and attendance…there is a lot to be said for being present, at work, at school, and in every meeting or event you are invited to attend. But I think school is sometimes used as a substitute for daycare - my husband had perfect attendance, and I know he was being sent to school VERY ILL. On the flip side, it’s a bit abusive to send your child to school when you know they are operating at, say 25%, and they are making everyone else sick or interrupting class.</p>
<p>To know when you’ve had too much, are too sick, and when to take a break, is important. If you have a super immune system, great…my older D missed very little school - the little she missed was due to musical ‘tech week’ usually. Younger D is another story - has health/immune issues and needs to be well rested.</p>
<p>Balance is key.</p>
<p>Not worth it. Keep the sickness at home.</p>
<p>why is everyone caring so much about the sickness bit. A lot of students (at least at my school) don’t come to school even if they are perfectly healthy, going off to shopping malls or wondering the streets instead. there are numerous amount of students who doesnt believe in the importance of coming to school when they should be and finishing the year with 100 days unattended for example. Its millions of dollars of tax payers money going to waste when the avaliability of education is there yet the students are not there to receive it.
I mean sure don’t go to school when you’re sick. It’s called common sense. But why are you guys antagonizing those who maybe do go to school everyday because they just don’t get sick? This is just ridiculous</p>
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[QUOTE=st.g.i.dragons]
I mean sure don’t go to school when you’re sick. It’s called common sense. But why are you guys antagonizing those who maybe do go to school everyday because they just don’t get sick? This is just ridiculous
[/quote]
Ummmm… I didn’t see anyone here “antagonizing those who maybe do go to school everyday because they just don’t get sick.” I saw people saying sick kids shouldn’t be in school. As you said, “It’s called common sense.” Sadly, not as common a trait as one would hope.</p>
<p>Well, I know my Student Government is in a partnership with Pinnacle Nissan in order to give away a free car for a person with perfect attendance at the end of each year. Our school went from 1 person with perfect attendance (In a school of 2.5k+) to around 90+ people with perfect attendance. </p>
<p>I think it is bad to go to school when sick, but perks help to prevent ditching or missing for the sake of missing.</p>
<p>I say not important…at all!! I actually encouraged my over-achiever daughter to take a mental health or snow day…she worked non stop…I wanted her to smell the roses…or fireplace…point is…a freind of hers never missed a day…She did take days off cause mom said…u need a break…lol she was valedictorian…she had her real choice of colleges (her stats)…on the other hand…my son was also part of the same mind set…take a break…again, he was way more driven then I. I have to sit down and talk to my kids about the benefits of resting, lol…</p>
<p>I seriously don’t think the over achieving stuff will matter anymore. My kids had stats that I thought would really give them legs up…not…people with lower incomes got alot more help…but u only have a week or so to accept…so i feel like we were trapped…and i still think we were.</p>
<p>Ever since the beginning of high school, I’ve aimed for perfect attendance. I almost had it Freshman year but I decided to skip a day and go skiing in Vermont (ironically I developed a cold on that trip). But sophomore, junior, and senior years, something always came up. It was usually for illness, but I had to miss a couple days last year due to family problems. I’ve always strived for being on the bus and in every single class everyday. I guess you could say, as another poster said, that I have a ‘presenteeism’ issue. Its become almost an obsession for me. </p>
<p>But even I understand that when you’re sick, you should stay home. In fact, I’ve been out of school the past two days due to laryngitis. I also missed a couple of days of school for a band trip to Boston last month. I may strive for being in school everyday, but I don’t want to miss out on more exciting things in life. And I don’t want to be in school feeling miserable. Putting that aside, I am a strong believer in good attendance. I don’t believe in using sick days and or personal days just because they’re available to you. If you don’t have a legitimate reason to use them, then just don’t. My mother and I always argue because she uses her personal days just because she’ll lose them at the end of the year. Well if you don’t need them, don’t use them.</p>
<p>I just don’t get the reason why schools make perfect attendance something to be proud of. It is trully remarkable that a child could go from kindergarten through 12th grade never being sick and if that is the case than the child has an immune system worth being studied. Unfortunately there are too many kids going to school that are sick but the parents do not take off from work unless the kid can not keep there eyes open or they are vomiting. There are kids in school environments that have poor immune systems due to medications or other illnesses and the kid that is seeking this silly award is hampering another childs ability to be at school. I think it is selfish and irresponsible to bring your know germs to others.</p>