I used to skip school.
I did.
Way back in the dark ages, when I was in high school. I skipped a couple of months straight. Don’t ask me how I got away with it, but I did. I’d check in with my first hour and then, check out. For the rest of the day. For WEEKS.
I had this friend I skipped with. She had this friend who would put on a grown up voice and call us in sick. Seems I was stricken with mono, strep and the chicken pox in my Junior year of high school. Often.
Don’t bother asking what we did. It was nothing amazing. We’d go to coffee, the mall, lunch. Anywhere but Andover High School.
Eventually I got busted and was on some sort of school probation for the rest of the year. Oh, fun times. Fun. Times.
Back then, it was easy to have someone call us in to get our absences excused. The hard part was sneaking out of school without getting caught by one of the teachers on hall patrol or one of the undercover narcs. Yes, we had our own 21 Jump Street minus the Jonny Depp cuteness.
Why am I thinking about the juvenile delinquent that once defined who I was, kinda?
My son called me yesterday. And today. He doesn’t feel well and I need to pick him up.
The big difference though, between high school of the 80’s and today?
I call the school and let them know I’m coming to gather my sick child.
I pull into the front of the school and wait in my car.
And he leaves.
I could be ANYONE waiting to get him. His drug dealer (not that my kid is on drugs and if he is, I’ll kill him myself), his girlfriend (not that he has a girlfriend, especially one old enough to drive and if he does, I’ll kill him myself)…
ANYONE.
He could be leaving for any reason.
My old high school self would be giddy with excitement at the prospect of just being able to walk out of school without the risk of getting caught for truancy.
My Mommy self…
Is SO not OK with this.
Especially if my son, when he is a junior in high school, turns out to be anything like me.
Luckily. Right now. He isn’t.
My children are just beginning their school journey. So far I’ve seen both extremely high security and non existent security. I have a red pass that allows me to enter the school to pick up my Pre-K child. They don’t go out to the curb for pick up.
The thing is… I’ve given this card to my sister when I knew I’d be late. I’ve given it to my brother… same reason. I’ve given it to Grandma to pick them up for a sleep over. My point is… any random stranger can make one of these passes and have access to school grounds. This compared to the first week of school where I had to sign in and show ID and have my pass. My guess is that parents complained the line was too long and they decided ID wasn’t needed if they have a pass.
After the bell rings… the children stream out of the gates and I grab the hand of my 1st grader. She walks out with her class. But I could be anyone… *sigh*
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Man, what happens between Kindergarten and Jr High. Right now I have to give a blood sample to get my kid out of school or to bring her lunch. Well not really, but almost.
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Call the school and raise holy hell to have that procedure changed. Even if your kid isn’t taking advantage of the lax system – you know there is one out there who is…..
That’s ridiculous and I can’t believe none of the administrators have realized just how this type of procedure can be abused.
By the way, I skipped once. Got caught and after the one month of hard labor punishment my mother inflicted – I never again even considered skipping.
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It takes an act of Congress to get my kids out of school. One is in junior high and the other is a senior. The senior, he drives, so he leaves when he wants, but he always texts me to ask first…LOL Sucks to be him because I skipped school all the time, but if he’s tardy or absent, I immediately get an email, so he asks if he can skip!
If I were you, I would let them know that this policy is dangerous.
It’s crazy. At the school where I teach, all you need is a phone call and the kid can leave. No parent waiting outside, nothing! They just climb into their cars and head off to a crack house for all we know. Same goes for being admitted back to school after an absence. You just need a dated note saying you were sick, a forged parent signature, and a bogus phone number.
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That’s insane. Like absolutely crazy! Granted my oldest is in Jr High, but last year when my fiance went to dismiss her, despite the fact he was ON THE LIST, HAD ID and I had TOLD the nurse he was the one getting her, they wouldn’t let her dismiss her.
Then, to top it off, her father went to get her. Not only does he have the same address as her, have all school paperwork stating to contact him FIRST in an emergency (they never do, they ALWAYS call me and I’m ALWAYS in a labcoat and unavailable) they STILL called me to make sure it was okay.
And I was like “IT’S HER FATHER AND HE’S ON THE LIST!”
They were “just checking”.
I’d have an easier time springing her out of the clink, I think.(Not that I would. I’d let her sit and think about how many ways she’s better off in the clink than at my mercy. That’s the kind of mom I am.)
Still. I can’t believe they just let your son leave. Craziness. Especially nowadays.
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I was waaay to chicken shit to ditch school. I left campus once in 11th grade to get slurpees from 7-11 next door (that I may or may not have been planning on pouring bacardi in) and got caught by the COPS and escorted back to my high school for truancy. And you’re right. The cop looked nothing like Johnny Depp, damnit!
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When I was in school it was easy to just walk out as we had an open campus. For the HS kids here the parent has to walk in, show ID and sign them out.
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