Unexcused absence-with parental permission

amother

Thu, May 13 2010, 10:01 pm

My dd is not what you would call scholastically inclined. The one topic that interests-actually fascinates- her is the holocaust. In our town, there is a Holocaust Symposium every year. They bring in survivors and liberators, and secular schools from all over the area bring their students to meet and listen to their stories.

In the evenings, these survivors would be in an auditorium, where the kids from the neighborhood were invited to come and hear the survivors stories. Ever since DD went to one of these-4 or 5 years ago-she has had an avid interest in the Holocaust and has made friends with these survivors. There are many of them who come every year to speak. So when they have the symposium, my daughter takes off 2 days of school to help out as many volunteers are needed. And she learns more each year. This is done with my approval.

Now for the problem: Her principal has something against the holocaust [I believe she is the child of survivors who never spoke about their experiences though I dont know this for a fact]. My dd let her know that she was taking time off school to go to the symposium. Note: one of her teachers is the lady who organizes and runs this symposium. As the principal doesn't approve of my dd going, she is giving her an unexcused absence for the 2 days that she missed. She actually told dd that this symposium is not geared for jewish kids and she doesnt belong there!! The unexcused absence means dd loses 3 points on a final for each day.

She is graduating this year, and I really do not care, but I was wondering how others felt about this.

Barbara

Fri, May 14 2010, 10:26 am

amother wrote:

I'm little miss *you shouldn't pull your kids out of school for this and that, it places too great a burden on the teachers*

I think the principal is being overly harsh.

[*]Is there a student handbook? If so, how does it define *unexcused absence*?

[*]How has the policy been applied in the past? Have students been penalized for, eg, taking a day off to help mom, or to attend a family seuda? (That is, for absences that are in their dsicretion, as this one is, as opposed to illness.)

[*]Is the rule about losing points in the handbook?

[*]Can your daughter talk to the teacher who is organizing this?

[*]Can she talk to her other teachers? This might be an instance in which a teacher would spot her the 3 points (so they could be taken away by the school).

[*]What effect will it have upon her GPA and upon her future plans?

Hatzlacha. Your daughter sounds like a lovely young woman with good priorities, who is likely to go far and do well in life. You should be proud.

Fox

Fri, May 14 2010, 1:16 pm

My goodness, isn't it amazing what happens when people get even a smidgen of power?!

Barbara's suggestions are all good -- especially regarding the student handbook or other printed materials outlining the rules. However, truthfully, I probably wouldn't push it all that hard. As Barbara suggested, a quiet word with a few of her teachers may solve the problem beautifully. Not that I would suggest it, of course, but demonstrating restraint and graciousness when approaching the individual teachers will only underscore the principal's pettiness. Not that you would ever do such a thing . . .

amother

Sat, May 15 2010, 11:21 pm

OP here. I am not pushing the issue at all. She already is set for next year, whichever subject she ends up losing points in wont matter much. and most teachers will give her extra points to make up for it. I was really looking for others opinions to see if I thought the principal-who I get along with very well - was going a bit overboard in her reaction.

As for the teacher who organized the symposium, the principal called her to try to dissuade my dd from going. The teacher felt guilty, but we told her not to worry-dd looks forward to this all year, she wasnt missing it due to someone else's views.

Oh, and dd asked me to add that for 4 years she has been asking for a class on the holocaust, and now they plan on one for next year. She is really upset about the fact that they waited until she graduates before planning that calss. And no, it would not have been hard to add it to the curriculum.