Comments about ‘Skipping even a few days of school can affect grades dramatically’

"Skipping a few days of schools can effect grades dramatically"--as it should. Being in class should be valuable. You should be missing something. I have no sympathies for students who choose this path or the parents that let them...

Also, there is no real reason with today's technology that both students and parents not knowing their students grades and attendance. Most districts and schools have grading programs with on-line access. This isn't the days when teachers kept their grades and roll in their grading book and sent home failing notices two weeks before the term to be intercepted by teens before their parents got home from work. Most teachers are required to put in scores at least once a week and encouraged to do it more often than that. The vast majority comply. It is time for parents to get with it and use this technology to track their students progress in school. Being ignorant of these matters is a poor excuse with the efforts schools have made to make these things accessible.

I have maintained for years that it is easier to get A's than C's because of the great foundation of knowledge that an A represents. It is the same with missing class. The concepts taught during that day you stay home are part of a building that will be less secure because of the holes in it. I wish there was a way to demonstrate that clearly to students or potential truants.

However, I realize that ability does make a difference. If the concepts are repeated day after day for the benefit of those who aren't getting it, then those who got it the first time are bored and up for skipping, and/or are confused about why one would think school was very important because obviously they repeat everything anyway.

Our entire education model needs to change. Those first 3-5 years should be used to both teach fundamentals and to assess aptitude and ability for the remaining 7-13 years (including college). And the last 8-9 years should be much more flexible to better match the student and the curriculum for both learning speed, and interest and career applicability, in the subjects studied.