Am I being overly critical?

[Penwoir]

On Monday this week I dropped my 8 year old son off at school at 8.15am and I watched him go through the gate and into the playground. Surprisingly, at 2pm later that day I received an automated message from the school to advise me that my son was absent from school and could I please call the school to "excuse" him. I had a moment of panic and rang the school to tell them that I had dropped him off at 8.15am as usual. The Office Staff were confused and responded "Well I know that your son is at school as he has been to the office twice today to use his inhaler". Relieved I said "Not to worry, mistakes happen". But after I put the phone down, I got to thinking. Assume for a moment my son was walking our one mile stretch to school. Would the first time that I got to hear about it be 2pm?? Is that not too late? I mean, 6 hours have passed between him supposedly arriving at school and by the time I received the message at 2pm. Is that acceptable? Do I have reason to expect a change at the school? I think I do. What say you?

[lvstephanie]

Yeah, I'm surprised that they wouldn't have some automated system if a student was even tardy let alone absent. I know of a parent that got an automated e-mail from the school about one of her kids being absent for 1st period shortly after that period began; when she called the school to inquire, she found out that the kid's dad had just gotten the kid to school late. The point being that she was told within the hour after the teacher reported the kid not present in the classroom, not at the end of the school day.

[madeara]

I don't think so.  You are absolutely right.  The school needs to develop a better and more accurate system for attendance.

[southernhorizons]

No you're not being overly critical. But I wonder, since it was a mistake, probably a glitch in the automated system, perhaps it works better when there is really an issue. You should probably contact the school and look into it further, letting them know that it is not acceptable to wait that long.

[countrygirl12]

Yes I think you are being overly critical.  I honestly do not think the school should call the parents and ask why the kid is not at school.  When I was in school they assumed you were sick.  I know they called after we got in high school.  I always thought that was stupid.  I also think it is stupid he has to go to the office to use his inhaler.  When I was in grade school if we had a script from a doctor we could take the one pill or whatever we needed with us and take it and it was not a problem.  Now the school wants you to bring the bottle and let them dispense it IF they agree you should actually be taking it. 

[michele2042]

Not sure if you're being overly critical.  I do believe it warrants a visit (by appointment) with the officials at school.   Maybe it's not even your specific school but something that needs to be addressed to the district.   Things are much different now than they were when I was in school (way too many years to mention).  It does seem a bit too long for my comfort.  What if something had happened, those first few hours when a child is missing are important.   Stay calm and look into the issue.
Glad it all turned out okay.

[patti4me]

You have every right to be critical of this situation!  Its the same at the Jr. H.S. here in our town; my daughter has rec'd. several calls (in the afternoon) saying her son was not at school when she had dropped him at the front door those mornings.  They explained once that the first period teacher turns her roll in as soon as the first bell rings and does not even wait for the tardy bell.  How ridiculous is that?  Anyway, my grandson has been at school when those calls were rec'd. but it is bothersome as my daughter works out of town and of course is always concerned when she receives those automated calls. 

[CharmedPhoenix]

Yes I think you are being overly critical.  I honestly do not think the school should call the parents and ask why the kid is not at school.  When I was in school they assumed you were sick.  I know they called after we got in high school.  I always thought that was stupid.  I also think it is stupid he has to go to the office to use his inhaler.  When I was in grade school if we had a script from a doctor we could take the one pill or whatever we needed with us and take it and it was not a problem.  Now the school wants you to bring the bottle and let them dispense it IF they agree you should actually be taking it. 

OMG, your school believes they have the right to second guess your chosen medical professionals?!  That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.  What happened to freedom? 

[cathy37]

I think that if your child is not at school, you should be notified as soon as possible.  They should know first thing in the morning if the child is there.

[CharmedPhoenix]

Dr Oz just talked about a related parenting topic today.  The fact that things are different today than they were forty years ago was brought up.  He pointed out a statistic that abductions really haven't gone up, we just hear about them more.  However, people getting hit by cars have increased significantly.

I'm not a parent, but I was a kid and I knew squat about life in third grade.  Today there are more opportunities for kids to get in trouble than when I was that age, in the 60's.

It's in the school's best interest to be accountable to the parents and keep track of the kids.  They are responsible for other people's kids so they have to answer to the parents.  If something should happen and they could have helped with timely information, but didn't, they could be facing a lawsuit or worse.

[countrygirl12]

Yes I think you are being overly critical.  I honestly do not think the school should call the parents and ask why the kid is not at school.  When I was in school they assumed you were sick.  I know they called after we got in high school.  I always thought that was stupid.  I also think it is stupid he has to go to the office to use his inhaler.  When I was in grade school if we had a script from a doctor we could take the one pill or whatever we needed with us and take it and it was not a problem.  Now the school wants you to bring the bottle and let them dispense it IF they agree you should actually be taking it. 

OMG, your school believes they have the right to second guess your chosen medical professionals?!  That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.  What happened to freedom? 

I actually thought it was this way at all schools.  I did not know there were any schools where you could take medication and dispense it yourself (like when we were kids).  Especially something like an inhaler.  Yes, the schools, all of them over step their boundaries.  Did you not hear (was on the internet) about the sub teacher that wrote the snarky letter to the father of a girl telling him to make sure she packed a proper lunch the next day?  She had 4 slices of ham, 4 pieces of chocolate, 4 marshmallows, and a string cheese stick.  I don't see anything wrong with that.  But a teacher thought she had the right to correct the parent on how they raise their child.  And the funny thing is the father is a dietician. 

[countrygirl12]

Dr Oz just talked about a related parenting topic today.  The fact that things are different today than they were forty years ago was brought up.  He pointed out a statistic that abductions really haven't gone up, we just hear about them more.  However, people getting hit by cars have increased significantly.

I'm not a parent, but I was a kid and I knew squat about life in third grade.  Today there are more opportunities for kids to get in trouble than when I was that age, in the 60's.

It's in the school's best interest to be accountable to the parents and keep track of the kids.  They are responsible for other people's kids so they have to answer to the parents.  If something should happen and they could have helped with timely information, but didn't, they could be facing a lawsuit or worse.

There is really no way to win.  Parents don't want the schools in their business.  Parents want to keep their kid at home and not have the school call and ask why.  But then get mad if the kid skips school and the parent thought they were there and they were not. 

[sgluckadoo]

That system probably costs tax payers a lot of money and it is utterly useless. As you pointed out, 6 hours later you are just being notified? They need to correct it or warn parents that they aren't going to have a system in place at all.

[hawkeye3210]

I don't think the school would have even called back in my day.

[countrygirl12]

I don't think the school would have even called back in my day.

They didn't. lol.  The grade schools in my area as far as I know still do not call.  I am assuming the high school only calls because so many kids drive.  But the thing is most parents work and the kid answers the phone and says they are the mom or dad and says "she/he is sick"  And the real kicker it is usually a student worker who calls not faculty.