Teacher Messages A Mom To Let Her Know If Her First Grader Misses 10 Consecutive Days Of School He Will Be Expelled
The attendance policy has her considering homeschooling her son.
Ground Picture / Shutterstock An angered mom claimed to be considering homeschooling after she received a message from her son's teacher that left her seeing red.
Her son's teacher revealed that if he misses 10 consecutive days of school he will be expelled.
Content creator and mother Kelsey Rhae has a 7-year-old son in the first grade. She recently received a message from his teacher about the consequences of his lack of attendance.
"I got a message from her stating that if he misses 10 consecutive days then he will be automatically withdrawn from the school," Rhae shared. "I have never heard this in my life."
She explained that her son, and the rest of her household, had just gotten over the flu, meaning they missed a few days of school. Unfortunately, as soon as her son recovered from that sickness, he ended up getting pink eye. Then, her toddler immediately contracted it, so Rhae decided to keep him out of school a bit longer due to the contagious nature of the illness.
Rhae made sure to inform her son's teacher and inquire if there was anything that she needed to do to excuse her son's absence due to an illness. His teacher explained to Rhae that she needed to fill out a form on the school's website, which she did.
Photo: Tomsickova Tatyana / Shutterstock
However, even after filling out the form, Rhae received a warning from her son's teacher about possible expulsion.
"You're going to withdraw my kid if I don't have him there every single [day]. What's the logic behind that?" Rhae questioned.
She explained that not only is she deeply confused by this teacher's message and the school's policy around attendance, but she also has a deep-rooted dislike for the public education system.
Rhae shared that she is now considering homeschooling because the public school system wants to 'control our children' — not educate them.
"They act like they own our kids," she remarked, adding that it's not sustainable for parents to keep their children from going to school in the first place as they have work and other responsibilities. To Rhae, there would be no reason to want to keep her child home from school unless it was an emergency.
"Furthermore, the reason that they ask for doctor's notes and the only reason that doctors notes excuse the absence is because they don't believe you when you say that your kid is sick," Rhae claimed. "Why do I want to keep my kid home? I would love for him to be gone at school for a couple of hours."
Aside from the questionable attendance policy, Rhae shared another issue she has with public education. "We all know that you don't learn life skills in school," she said. "You learn how to sit down pay attention and do what you're [expletive] told."
Many commenters pointed out that this seems to be a fairly universal attendance policy.
Commenters from Tennessee to Oregon to Florida shared that their schools have the same policy.
"This is a very common practice," one user wrote, "and likely posted in the handbook that you signed at the beginning of the year."
Still, it's understandable that Rhae would be upset about the warning from her son's teacher, as it doesn't seem to consider unforeseen events that can arise, from sickness to a family emergency. Parents like Rhae have the responsibility to care for their sick children and may need to keep them home from school until they recover. Punishing parents and students for prioritizing health sends the wrong message about the value of children over attendance numbers.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.