Attendance

There's a new attendance policy. I'm not really sure why it had to be changed. Attendance is one of those things where I recognize that School Meeting has authority but I think as a courtesy they should seek parental input. I think if you are going to make changes with the potential to affect home life you should involve the larger community. The new policy sounds a little too much like a regular school with all sorts of threats built into it. (I'm being dramatic-we're talking about write ups and fines but still!)

Let me backtrack here. I'm philosophically opposed to mandatory attendance. There is always a distinction drawn between alternative models of education and "compulsory education" but if you are forcing a child to be in school when you say so, isn't that compulsory? I think the merits of attending any school should be obvious enough that there is no need for a separate consequence simply for not being there. I've heard the argument 'well, when they grow up and get a job they have to show up for work or they'll be fired'. Then so be it. Again, do you need 12 years to teach this lesson and is that the point of going to school? I've had jobs where it was the work that I actually accomplished that was key and not when or where I did it.

Here's another little sticking point with me(winter makes me so cranky). If we want to do something outside of school on a school day the kids have to make a motion for school meeting approval. I think the policy should be that school meeting has to be notified. I neither want nor care about school meeting's approval. They are my kids. I pay for them to attend this school. And one of the reasons that I sent them to this school was for flexibility so that if I want to take the day off and take them to the city I can without having to answer to anyone. The idea of school meeting having to make a decision about whether an outside activity is comparable to a day at Sudbury seems silly to me because there is no typical day at Sudbury. What would school meeting disapprove of? Illegal activity I suppose. Excessive absences where the kid was out of school more than they were there? I don't know. I should ask.

I think, I hope, the reason for the policy is because it's a state mandate. I think NY even makes homeschoolers keep attendance. Beauracrats. Humph. They are my sworn enemies.