We got this letter in the mail today from Otterboy's school.
"Dear Mr and Mrs ***,
Re: Otterboy's absence from school
I am writing in reply to your letter requesting that Otterboy be absent from school from the 5th December onwards. Under the terms of the Education act students are legally required to attend school when it is open for instruction for that year level. Therefore, Otterboy's absence will be recorded as an explained unjustified absence.
I am disappointed that you are not allowing Otterboy to remain at school and participate in activities week. This week is still part of the school year and Otterboy should be at school or on an activity until Thursday 8th December the last day of the school year.
Staff and students value this week as it is a time where students can undertake new experiences and learn new skills in an enjoyable end to the year.
Yours sincerely
PH Keenan, Principal"
(All lack of punctuation is in the original letter)
Doesn't that sound so very concerned and caring?!
Well, this is the same man that sent Otterboy home four hours after an incident because he thought Otterboy might do something to another boy at lunch. In reality, if he had bothered to talk to Otterboy before his being sent home, he would have known that both boys had forgotten about the incident and gone on with life. This isn't teaching students how to deal with conflict if they don't actually deal with it. So they learn to never confront any situation and then expect the world to right itself, I guess.
This is the same man that had Otterboy sent home because a teacher "thought he looked angry". What 15 year old boy doesn't look angry!
This is the same school that showed 'R' rated movies to 14 and 15 year olds last year during 'activities week' without any parental consent. Apparently, we don't have the right to know what they are showing our kids at school, but they sure better show up!
Activities week, in my opinion, is just another week that is wasted by the school. They are only 'in school' because the school requires to have the kids in class. That's why Otterboy didn't want to go, and we certainly couldn't blame him. And that's why he's not in school. So sue us. At least, we know where he is and what he's watching.
2 comments:
I used to let my girls stay home on "Sports Week". They hated sports. I got into trouble too. Hey they are MY kids. School officials drive me crazy. I think it is terrible they showed R rated movies to the kids at school.
I am be biased, but I think I tend to be a very smart person (not always, but in many ways ;D !). I barely made it through Jr HS though, as I thought school to be boring, that it was a HUGE waste of time. I did the bare minimum, good enough was good enough. It wasn't until HS when I had motivating teachers (most of them) and friends who enjoyed competing for grades that I decided to work harder and I got very good grades. School shouldn't be boring, tedious, or useless! I'm not opposed to fun days, and I agree that some activity functions are good too... working in teams, with your peers, etc, these are good skills. But, people need to keep their priorities straight! School is for academic learning first and foremost. If the atmosphere is not conducive to this goal, they've missed the whole point.
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