{the debate}
I don't know if every parent struggles with it as much as I do, but I find the dilemma of when your child needs to stay home from school vs. when your child is fine to go to be a tough one. It seems to me as if sending your child to school not feeling well is just irresponsible. Excessive absences are even more frowned upon though.
Here in Tennessee, the policy on missed school days is much more strict than I was used to in Missouri or in Indiana. The students can only miss five days per year due to sickness unless a doctor is involved. I guess anything more than five sick days becomes unexcused (as are any days that your child misses due to any other circumstance besides illness). Last Monday when Gracie and Luke were both home from school, Luke's absence ended up being excused because I had to take him to the doctor for pink eye. Gracie actually felt much worse than he did with a sore throat, headache, and slight temp., but her absence was unexcused.
A strict attendance policy seems to encourage parents to send sick children in to school- something I find really aggravating. I fear we are going to spend the winter battling one thing or another. A sick child can't perform well in school anyway and belongs at home.
The kids have been feeling a little crummy in general for a full week now. Lots of coughing, sore throats, complaints about headaches and earaches, stuffy noses, etc. After missing last Monday, they've been to school each day and we've just been taking it really easy in the evenings with quiet activity and early bedtimes. We even kept this weekend in Nashville very low key. The kids spent most of the trip in the van or in our hotel room.
I was hoping we were on the mend, but Luke woke up this morning complaining about his throat and ear. I made smoothies for breakfast- normally a huge hit- and he didn't want his. He finally ate about half of a piece of toast and then got ready for school as usual. As we had coats on and were seconds from loading into the van, he broke into tears and said his tummy hurt. His face was pale and he looked awful. He went to the bathroom and said he was going to be sick, but never was. Ten minutes later his color returned and he swore he felt fine.
We took Gracie to school and I brought him back home with me. He is mad because he says he doesn't feel bad anymore, but I just couldn't send him with a clear conscience. I have been the teacher in the classroom too many times when a child has puked all over the floor- I don't want to risk doing that to Luke's teacher or risk making him the poor child who is scared and embarrassed because he has just gotten sick at school.
On the other hand, Luke seems fine right now. He is in bed only because I forced him to be, but he is sitting up drawing and has a stack of books next to him. He keeps yelling out to me, "I feel good. Why can't I go to school now?" The deal we have made is that if he still feels good at 9:15, he can go to school at that point. He'll be ninety minutes tardy, but I suppose that is better than an absence.
Missing school for any other reason besides sickness is unexcused, I am told. This creates a problem when your family is eight hours away.The students already had one unexcused absence this fall for a trip to Illinois. They will most likely have one or two this May when the baby arrives. Ben and I have a trip to take this February for his job and we would love for the kids to be in Decatur while we are gone, but this would mean missing four school days. Unfortunately, this means that Patti has to come here by herself to care for the kids while we are gone. We are so lucky that she is able to do this and hate that she has to go to so much trouble just so they can have four more days of school this year.
I find the absence policy a little insulting. Shouldn't it be my decision as the parent if my child should be at school or not? I obviously want the best for my child and know the importance of education. But, seriously, he is in kindergarten and she is in second grade. I don't think missing days occasionally is the end of the world. This policy is going to drive me crazy the whole time we live here, I can already tell.
Here in Tennessee, the policy on missed school days is much more strict than I was used to in Missouri or in Indiana. The students can only miss five days per year due to sickness unless a doctor is involved. I guess anything more than five sick days becomes unexcused (as are any days that your child misses due to any other circumstance besides illness). Last Monday when Gracie and Luke were both home from school, Luke's absence ended up being excused because I had to take him to the doctor for pink eye. Gracie actually felt much worse than he did with a sore throat, headache, and slight temp., but her absence was unexcused.
A strict attendance policy seems to encourage parents to send sick children in to school- something I find really aggravating. I fear we are going to spend the winter battling one thing or another. A sick child can't perform well in school anyway and belongs at home.
The kids have been feeling a little crummy in general for a full week now. Lots of coughing, sore throats, complaints about headaches and earaches, stuffy noses, etc. After missing last Monday, they've been to school each day and we've just been taking it really easy in the evenings with quiet activity and early bedtimes. We even kept this weekend in Nashville very low key. The kids spent most of the trip in the van or in our hotel room.
I was hoping we were on the mend, but Luke woke up this morning complaining about his throat and ear. I made smoothies for breakfast- normally a huge hit- and he didn't want his. He finally ate about half of a piece of toast and then got ready for school as usual. As we had coats on and were seconds from loading into the van, he broke into tears and said his tummy hurt. His face was pale and he looked awful. He went to the bathroom and said he was going to be sick, but never was. Ten minutes later his color returned and he swore he felt fine.
We took Gracie to school and I brought him back home with me. He is mad because he says he doesn't feel bad anymore, but I just couldn't send him with a clear conscience. I have been the teacher in the classroom too many times when a child has puked all over the floor- I don't want to risk doing that to Luke's teacher or risk making him the poor child who is scared and embarrassed because he has just gotten sick at school.
On the other hand, Luke seems fine right now. He is in bed only because I forced him to be, but he is sitting up drawing and has a stack of books next to him. He keeps yelling out to me, "I feel good. Why can't I go to school now?" The deal we have made is that if he still feels good at 9:15, he can go to school at that point. He'll be ninety minutes tardy, but I suppose that is better than an absence.
Missing school for any other reason besides sickness is unexcused, I am told. This creates a problem when your family is eight hours away.The students already had one unexcused absence this fall for a trip to Illinois. They will most likely have one or two this May when the baby arrives. Ben and I have a trip to take this February for his job and we would love for the kids to be in Decatur while we are gone, but this would mean missing four school days. Unfortunately, this means that Patti has to come here by herself to care for the kids while we are gone. We are so lucky that she is able to do this and hate that she has to go to so much trouble just so they can have four more days of school this year.
I find the absence policy a little insulting. Shouldn't it be my decision as the parent if my child should be at school or not? I obviously want the best for my child and know the importance of education. But, seriously, he is in kindergarten and she is in second grade. I don't think missing days occasionally is the end of the world. This policy is going to drive me crazy the whole time we live here, I can already tell.
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