Face-to-Face is a feature that allows two members of the Redwood community to grill each other, argue, or simply converse about a relevant issue or event. We provide the topic, and they do the rest. This month’s participants are juniors Jordan Byck and Paige Colvin. The two discuss whether or not students should ditch school to attend the World Series Giants parade.
What influenced you to attend or not attend the parade?
Jordan Byck: I think that the parade is mainly a social thing. It’s a way for Redwood students to get together and celebrate our local sports team winning the championship. In most places, it’s not something that happens very often, so when it does happen, it should be really cherished and should be an opportunity to celebrate.
Paige Colvin: Not many of my friends are going, and it’s kind of difficult for us to just pick up and get on a ferry and leave without some kind of planning with my parents. It would just be too difficult to just leave school suddenly for the parade.
Should teachers accommodate or plan around students who skip school?
PC: I think it just makes it more difficult for teachers because I know a lot of teachers are saying they need to change their curriculum because they know a lot of students are going to be absent on Friday. The teachers have planned out what they are going to teach on Friday, and it makes it difficult if there are going to be a lot of students who are not going to be there to learn what they are teaching.
JB: To be honest, teachers should take into account the social aspects of what’s going on [when planning] their curriculum, and they can’t take a sort of egocentric view on their teaching. They have to know that there are going to be people skipping this day, and they have to take that into account when they are writing their curriculum. They can’t assume that the entire world will fall into their schedule.
PC: I don’t think its egocentric. I think it’s academically centric because we are in school, because we are here to learn, and teachers can’t plan for students to just decide that they don’t want to be there.
JB: It’s absurd to assume that our learning is going to be somehow forsaken because we skip one day of school.
PC: Well, I personally know that a lot of teachers have had tests or assignments or certain presentations planned that day, and now they are having to completely rearrange their schedule just to accommodate these kids who just decided to skip school to be able to go to the parade.
Is it morally okay for students to call in sick or use an excused absence to skip the parade?
JB: In the great majority of the situations, no, students shouldn’t just skip school because they feel like it or for an average social event, but this is such a special experience that most other schools around the country won’t be able to get. It would almost feel like a waste not to skip school that day.
PC: I think using excused absences or [calling in] sick days just because you want to go have fun at the parade… you shouldn’t do it.
JB: Excused absences can be used at the student’s own discretion.
Should teachers be allowed to penalize students for skipping school to go to the parade?
JB: If they want to penalize all of their students, go ahead.
PC: If teachers want to penalize their students for skipping school, they definitely should be able to because the student skipped school.
JB: If it is a penalty for all of the students, is it really a penalty for anyone?
PC: There are some students who don’t go to the parade, and it wouldn’t be penalizing every student.
JB: I think teachers totally can penalize their students if they want to. But they should take into consideration that the great majority of students are going to skip school on that day.
