​Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere
www.nytimes.com
The pandemic changed families’ lives and the culture of education: “Our relationship with school became optional.”

Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason.

  • @givesomefucksEnglish
    6•9 months ago

    Survey by a conservative think-tank…

    So obviously it’s going to blame something that may show long term effects of even “mild” COVID cases as just fucking lazyness

    Just because something doesn’t kill you, doesn’t mean it makes you stronger. Often it’s the opposite

    • @NotAnotherLemmyUser
      6•9 months ago

      Providing some context to your comment here.

      From the article:

      Data provided by Nat Malkus, with the American Enterprise Institute.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Enterprise_Institute

      The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare.

      The article does mention more than just behaviour that could be attributed to laziness.

      Across the country, students are staying home when sick, not only with Covid-19, but also with more routine colds and viruses.

      And more students are struggling with their mental health, one reason for increased absenteeism in Mason, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Cincinnati, said Tracey Carson, a district spokeswoman. Because many parents can work remotely, their children can also stay home.

      I think this should be seen as an overall positive. If kids stay home when sick then they wouldn’t spread that sickness as easily to other students/teachers. And ideally less kids being sick would mean an overall increase in attendance.

      But our schools need to be better about handling sick days. For instance, in California, public school funding is based on attendance. It doesn’t matter if the absence was excused or not.

      This incentivizes schools to work on attendance but it also has the effect of pushing students to come to school even if they are sick. There’s a limit to how many excused sick days you can have before they start requiring doctor’s notes.