Kathryn Harrison is a single mom of a daughter who suffers from a persistent sickness, leading to her lacking a whole lot of college days.
When her daughter does make it into college, Harrison probably assumes it’s a secure area the place she will get to be a traditional child like her friends. Nonetheless, that isn’t what panned out again in 2021 when she known as out her kid’s college for making her daughter really feel excluded.
Youngsters with persistent diseases and disabilities usually face challenges in a faculty system that isn’t at all times outfitted to serve them however one explicit problem is absenteeism.
The mom says she ‘despises’ attendance awards since her chronically unwell daughter won’t ever have the possibility to get one.
Harrison took to Twitter to vent her emotions relating to the idea of attendance awards, and to disclose how her daughter’s college rewards the youngsters who preserve an ideal attendance report.
“All the children with 100% attendance at my daughter’s college get an Easter egg this week. The remaining don’t,” the mom shared. “I despise attendance awards.”
Though her daughter wouldn’t be getting an Easter egg from her college, Harrison stepped in to make sure that she knew she would by no means be missed. She wrote, “Anyway, right now I’m going to purchase my daughter, who won’t ever have 100% attendance because of persistent sickness, an enormous Easter egg.”
Twitter customers praised the mom and agreed together with her feedback about attendance awards.
“That is flawed in additional methods than I can rely, beginning with the plain that attendance isn’t in a toddler’s management, and secondly, there are the reason why not being in attendance is the higher factor – this follow is each foolish and dangerous,” one person commented.
“Particularly after a pandemic, it’s creepy and absurd to anticipate good attendance,” one other person identified.
“I understand how she felt. I had persistent bronchitis for lengthy spells each winter rising up…by no means had good attendance or obtained attendance awards,” one other shared.
Others famous that encouraging good attendance is unethical, particularly since it could unfold diseases if kids are anticipated to return to high school whereas they’re sick.
Even educators have questioned the function of attendance awards in faculties and argue that it promotes a dangerous message.
“It’s sending combined messages should you’re telling folks to remain house once they have a fever—which is absolutely vital—then the following day having an announcement that you just’re providing a prize for being there day-after-day,” principal of Bear Creek Elementary College in Euless, Texas Bryan Calvert informed Training Week final yr.
Many dad and mom and academics imagine that college students needs to be awarded merely for simply exhibiting up and making it by the day. Absences are certain to occur and they’re so usually out of scholars’ management.
Each child, even those that are battling diseases and cannot make it to class day-after-day, deserves a chocolate Easter egg.
Megan Quinn is a author at YourTango who covers leisure and information, self, love, and relationships.
