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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Scott Poole principal
Posted by:
lisah
()
Date: February 27, 2016 07:59PM
I have two children at Woodson High School. The new principal, Mr. Poole, is mandating after a certain number of excused absences, absences the parents have excused, the parents must provide a doctor’s note. This news was delivered in a form letter generated by attendance. Nothing else. There was no conversation, and Mr. Poole refuses to reverse the decision. He insisted that he had to, that it is out of his control. In FCPS policy 2232.3, it states, “The principal or his designee determine whether or not absences will be excused and may require a physician’s note in cases of chronic or long-term illness.” This is neither a case of chronic illness or long-term illness.
He MAY request a doctor’s note, but he doesn’t have to. He has dug in his feet. He knows what is best for my kids.
We need to foster a mutual respect between the students and the administration. Don’t waste your teachers time, don’t make extra work for your teacher, and don’t be late to class, it’s rude. In return, the administration should respect the students. They are thinking feeling human beings. Don’t use some random number of missed days as an excuse to make them sit in class, whether they are passing or failing. The only issue this addresses is your attendance rates. These children should not be used for your head count.
Everyone in the system is stressed out. The administration has pressure to show performance with numbers. The stress if passed down to the teachers, and in turn the students. Everyone feels powerless. The only difference is the students really are powerless, especially if you try to make the parent powerless. We need our parents to help us make decisions. If the child thinks they can’t make it to school, we can talk to them, and together decide what is best for them. This is how we teach them to be autonomous, build self-confidence and be successful. The rest of us can just quit. No one makes us do anything.
In all reality, it really doesn’t matter what he wants. I will not be providing doctor’s notes for absences, and every time my children miss a class he will basically tell them that I have no authority and the absence is unexcused. He will try to scare them into submission. He will try to make my kids believe that we have no rights. He is large and in charge.
After five unexcused absences, we will have a meeting. We will just keep meeting with subsequent unexcused absences, until the school year ends. He has no authority to fail a child for attendance. Hopefully I can keep my kids from stressing out over these meetings. They don’t like to break rules, but I don’t want them to grow up and not question why they are asked to do something. That would mean they are idiots.
Has he learned nothing from the suicides at Woodson HS?
When people feel powerless they either get mad, and fight, or they give up, and stop caring. They don’t respect their oppressors. They hate them.
He MAY request a doctor’s note, but he doesn’t have to. He has dug in his feet. He knows what is best for my kids.
We need to foster a mutual respect between the students and the administration. Don’t waste your teachers time, don’t make extra work for your teacher, and don’t be late to class, it’s rude. In return, the administration should respect the students. They are thinking feeling human beings. Don’t use some random number of missed days as an excuse to make them sit in class, whether they are passing or failing. The only issue this addresses is your attendance rates. These children should not be used for your head count.
Everyone in the system is stressed out. The administration has pressure to show performance with numbers. The stress if passed down to the teachers, and in turn the students. Everyone feels powerless. The only difference is the students really are powerless, especially if you try to make the parent powerless. We need our parents to help us make decisions. If the child thinks they can’t make it to school, we can talk to them, and together decide what is best for them. This is how we teach them to be autonomous, build self-confidence and be successful. The rest of us can just quit. No one makes us do anything.
In all reality, it really doesn’t matter what he wants. I will not be providing doctor’s notes for absences, and every time my children miss a class he will basically tell them that I have no authority and the absence is unexcused. He will try to scare them into submission. He will try to make my kids believe that we have no rights. He is large and in charge.
After five unexcused absences, we will have a meeting. We will just keep meeting with subsequent unexcused absences, until the school year ends. He has no authority to fail a child for attendance. Hopefully I can keep my kids from stressing out over these meetings. They don’t like to break rules, but I don’t want them to grow up and not question why they are asked to do something. That would mean they are idiots.
Has he learned nothing from the suicides at Woodson HS?
When people feel powerless they either get mad, and fight, or they give up, and stop caring. They don’t respect their oppressors. They hate them.