pacrosby
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2009
So I am not entitled to "own my opinion" either, since it doesn't agree with yours??? I siad it was MY OPINION, and that if someone feels differently that is ok. No, quite frankly I don't think people who continually allow thier children to miss class just becuase they want to go on vacation, out of town, or anywhere else truly value the clas time that their children are missing, and I feel that they are teaching thier children that that class time is NOT valuble enough to be inconvinenced for. I see the results of that all the time when my high school students expect to come back form a week of vacation and not be held accountable for what was missed. They are genuinely shocked when I tell them that ,yes, you do have to take the test you missed, and if you don't get the material you missed, you cannot expect to function in class from this point out because in this course topics are actually connected. Again, if parents feel that school is not important enough to minmize time missed then that is OK, but you cannot have it both ways. If you don't think school is important, then own that opinion. You are more than welcome to it, but you can't randomly decide that school is sometimes important and sometimes not, either it is or it isn't. Iti s not magically less important the week you choose to vacation.
I wouldn't be so quick to call it an opinion.....it's really more of a judgement call. An opinion would be to say "I think it is important to miss as little school as possible". A judgement is to say "anyone who would pull their kid out of school for vacation doesn't value education". Is the distinction really that unclear? Sweeping generalizations are being made about people one doesn't even know.
And why exactly are we continuing to insist that people feel "school is not important"? That's a leap you are choosing to make not a sentiment anyone has personally expressed. And again, it's a judgement call - "A parent who would take a child out of school for vacation does not feel school is important". Do we know 'that' parent well enough to make that call? Nope, I'm simply not willing to 'own' that opinion because that's not how I feel. Sure, school has it's place; it is important; but it's not the only thing that's important. There are going to be times that I will feel that some other experience is in fact going to be more important than sitting in that classroom. And like it or not, I actually do have the 'right' to feel that way.
Am I teaching my children that school is not important enough to be inconvienced for? Not at all. I'm teaching them that life can be complicated. That things aren't always going to fall so neatly into place. That sometimes you have to really think about things and consider the potential pros and cons before making an important decision. That there's not necessarily a one size fits all solution to every situation. That you should never make your decisions in life according to someone else's handbook. IDK....seem like a lot of strong, sensible life lessons to me.
And honestly I'm alittle confused now because for months we've all been hearing about this Alabama high school and it's ultra high expectations; it's ultra smart student body........and now suddenly all these students are returning from vacation and expecting to not even have to take that test they missed; to not have to make up the material they missed???????????? Hey, if people want to criticize those hypothetical parents who would take their kids out and NOT expect them to make up the work I will suspect that they will receive nothing but support. I don't think any of those parents are participating on this thread though..............so the outrage is somewhat misdirected.