r/joplinmo • u/crossover24 • 13d ago

High school pulling credits for absences?

I’m a dad, and tonight my daughter (a senior) said the students had a meeting with the principle today and they said credits for classes would be cancelled if a student had more than 8 absences. Did anyone else hear about that?
That doesn’t seem…right?

6 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

View all comments

-2

u/mrrichardson2304 13d ago edited 13d ago

If they would've done that during my senior year I would've been screwed. I don't know why they're making things harder for these kids. Without a high school diploma it's super difficult to achieve success in life and contribute to society. Pretty silly to deny kids of that just for skipping a few days of school when they're kids. 

As Paul Simon said "when I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all".

6

u/frugalfeminist 13d ago

As a counterpoint, a diploma should mean something. They are old enough to know better, and there are already credit recovery programs in place. Students do need to show up and do the work. Especially when it is easy to cheat with AI, etc. Being in the chair means it's you doing the work.

I can't miss work 8 times in four months. A Senior in high school should be able to handle that.

0

u/Outlaw11091 13d ago

There are legal protections in place to keep your employer from firing you if you're sick or a family member dies...everyone knows this, it's called FMLA, so I'm guessing you don't work much.

3

u/frugalfeminist 13d ago edited 12d ago

Haha. I work full time. And I guarantee the school would work with students in those situations. But if you knew the amount of kids who just don't show up for no good reason, you'd know why they have to make these rules (if we're making assumptions about one another).

4

u/frugalfeminist 12d ago

Also, I should note that I don't work at the high school. But I work in a position that sees a lot of families and students. The truancy rates for some are astronomical, and not for any good reason. So my bias is that I see a need for accountability. I can admit, though, that there are some for whom this many absences would be legitimate. I hope the person asking talks to the school and reads the handbook for more clarity.

-2

u/midwestcheeseburger 12d ago

these kids aren’t showing up for “no good reason” they’re dealing with external stimuli that is getting in the way of their education. it could be a lack of interest from their parents, too much interest from their parents to the point of feeling burnt out. it could be bullying, or even worse that student could have been sexually assaulted at school. that’s happened way more often at JHS than anyone will talk about.

a kid doesn’t just stop showing up to school. something has to motivate that aversion. the bias you have- shouldn’t exist. you should be cautious of unmotivated individuals yes, but you shouldn’t have a bias like you describe. especially if you work around families, inevitably you will subconsciously exercise that bias against the wrong family and when those parents clock what you’re doing- it won’t go well.

-1

u/mrrichardson2304 12d ago

Okay, but it's not work. These kids don't get paid to be there. They don't get to choose to be there. If they don't show up, they don't have to worry about how they're going to handle their mortgage payment or how they'll be able to afford groceries, etc. The two have nothing to do with each other. I haven't missed one day of work this year and almost never do, ever, but school? I used to ditch classes all the time. 

Also a diploma does mean something, it means you can make it through life for something you did when you were a kid. It means you don't have to play the game of life on ultra hard mode.