1 in 4 U.S. teachers are chronically absent

You like the anti-teacher YF? The one who just wants to see more teachers fired with no regard to whether or not the individuals being fired deserve it?

 

I doubt YF cares that much about tenure, so long as teachers are poorer and non-union.

 

Take away unions and tenure would likely follow. Also, I believe he has spoken against tenure in the past.

 

My wife took 6 weeks when each of our kids were born. Fire her now!

 

Shouldn't we go beyond anecdotes? There are always teachers who have to deal with serious health issues or deaths in the family. But the number of teachers who miss more than two weeks to recover from major illnesses or deaths in the family is not the main reason for these abscences

Reminds me of how many college students miss class because they said a grandparent died. A lot of grandparents tend to die every semester.

 

I had a teacher in high school who once explained to us that they got so many sick days and were encouraged to use them because the school didn't want them coming to school sick and infecting the kids.

 

Based on headlines here, gonorrhea is the No. 1 cause of the absences.

 

Anecdotes illustrate one of the problems with this report. It doesn't differentiate among reasons why teachers are absent.

Also, it illustrates one flaw in YF's likely endgame here. He has demonstrated many times in the past that he wants to see more teachers fired, but he has no interest in making sure the right ones lose their jobs. The anecdotes provide examples of teachers who fit this article's definition of "chronically absent," but should any of the teachers in those stories lose their jobs?

 

This does raise one good point about schools today - public and private. Too many goddamn off days for kids due to "in service" days for teachers.

My sisters kids might have one week a month with five full days of school. They get early release/days off all the time because of in-service/conferences etc. it's insane.

 

Agreed, though that seems like a lot. Most of the local districts here have no more than one of those conference/in-service days per month, if even that many.

The early release days are particularly frustrating. Many of the local districts have half days the entire final week. It just becomes a joke.

 

The bus or train usually is late for those students who commute also. Only know that from a buddy who was an adjunct prof for a few years.

 

Still waiting for YF to follow up on his initial post and perhaps answer for the flaws in the report he decided to share with us.