Posted on 06/04/2005 4:54:48 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
Danielle Pelletier said she never once had to serve a detention when she attended Winslow High School more than two decades ago.
But her clean record ended Friday.
Pelletier, 39, served her first detention, reporting to Room 24 of the high school promptly at 2:15 p.m. for a one-hour stay.
The Vassalboro mother served the time in place of her daughter, who had been given the punishment because of an unexcused absence.
Pelletier requested the stand-in arrangement, she said, because she was the one who elected to pull her daughter out of class 30 minutes before the end of the school day earlier this week -- a hair-styling appointment was the reason.
The petite Pelletier, a nurse at a local hospital, took the rap to protest what she called an unjust policy.
School administrators argued to the contrary. They said the policy is sound and that Pelletier's daughter received the minimum consequence.
School discipline. Parental rights.
The Pelletier detention raised questions about both concerns.
"The whole point of this is this shouldn't be happening," Pelletier said. "I should be able to come to school and take (my daughter) out when I need to."
Winslow principal Douglas Carville and assistant principal Terry Atwood, however, said a parent's right in such instances depends on the nature of the need.
And that need, they said, is established by state law, not school policy.
State law permits an excused absence for personal illness, medical appointments, religious holiday observance, family emergencies, and pre-approved personal or educational purposes.
Pelletier's reason for missing school, the two administrators said, did not meet that criteria.
School policy, they said, has to adhere to state law.
Pelletier, though, said she does not dispute that the absence was unexcused.
What she does dispute, she said, is that one unexcused absence does not merit a punishment, and certainly not one directed at her daughter, whom she said has an exemplary student record.
She also argued that the school should have discipline policies that treat students as individuals, not as one student body.
"There are 588 students at Winslow High School and every one of them is an individual," she said. "Sometimes you have to look at that, and they don't. They don't care. They think every kid is exactly the same."
Carville and Atwood begged to differ with that assessment.
Atwood said he always considers a child's history as a student when that child violates a school rule. Those with a good history receive the minimum consequence for a first offense, he said.
At the same time, Carville said, discipline policies can only be flexible to a certain degree. Make them too flexible, he said, and you are left with rules inconsistently applied, and an inconsistently applied rule ceases to be a rule.
In the Pelletier case, however, Carville said a proper level of flexibility was shown. That is why the mother, not the daughter, served the detention, he said.
Thinking about it....The parent obviously has a time schedule...just like most of us. Sometimes stuff happens and we parents make a decison. The school and the state does not OWN our children. If the schools would worry about the REAL TROUBLE MAKERS instead of exerting their POWER, we'd be a lot better off. This is another POWER PLAY...the favorite teachers' game.
Would love to know the number of school kids who have gone to Disney World for "Educational Purposes".
That's going on Mom's permanent record now!
***Should you be able to go to school and take your child out when you need to?***
No one NEEDS to take a kid out of school to go to the beauty parlor. If everyone could take their children out for such flimsly reasons, the classes would be in chaos. It's time this ditzy mother grew up.
My child was sick and stayed home, and I forgot to call in the excuse. Explaining this to the vice principal didn't change his mind about the detention.
The zero tolerance one size fits all lazy thinking that the man exhibited was disgusting and occurs way too often today's world.
I have a very difficult time objecting to the idea that going to a hair salon is not a legitimate reason to excuse your kid from class. Schools in the modern day have a huge problem maintaining discipline and standards; letting kids go for whatever silly reason their parents might approve of would not be helpful.
Should you be able to take off from work whenever you feel the need to get your hair done?
Mom doesn't need detention. She needs parenting classes.
I think mom craves attention a little too much.
Classes WOULD be chaos? You haven't been paying attention, have you...?
We really dont know why the kid needed hjer hair done that day do we? I mean we should assume that the mother doesnt make hair appointment during school hours as a regular habit. Maybe she as in a wedding that weekend or maybe there was another reason. I would assume it was something special. If the kid isnt habitually taken from school as a regular thing I wouldnt think it was any business of the schools why she was taken out. To me an inexcused absence is one where the kid skips school and the parent doesnt know it. If the parent wishes to take a child out of school for a day thats their business. Schools dont own children.
If that is the only time that mom can get the kid into the hair stylist that fits into her schedule she damn sure needs to take the kid out of school.
It's none of the school's business why a parent takes a kid out of school unless it is effecting the kid's performance at school.
Would you feel the same way if the mom pulled the kid during a class on the positive aspects of a homosexual life style or the negative effects Christianity?
Parents can take a kid out anytime they want,period.
I am sorry, but taking your kid out of school early because of a ...hairdresser appointment is quite ridiculous. Granted, she's the parent, it her choice but how on earth are we going to instill in kids the importance of education and good attendance when they are being pulled out early on a whim, for superfluous reasons?
I take off work when I need to and when I want to. If the people who've contracted for my services don't like it, tough. Fire me. There are plenty of other businesses who require my services.
I wonder how many kids & teachers at Winslow High had 'dental appointments' a week ago Friday...the Friday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
There's also the possibility that teachers and administrators can no longer think for themselves since they have become union members and have to follow union rules. A professional might be able to see the nuance and manage the situation accordingly, but a rank-and-file person has rules to obey...
I think you opened up a can of worms..laughs. In fact I think many women do just that. Therefore the mindset. However men have been known to leave work for a haircut.
Anybody that thinks they can, should investigate.
My sister had her kids in public school, and in the event of a public emergency...you are not allowed to take your kids out of school.
There are very specific rules for removing a kid from school.
Supposedly these are in place to protect the child, but when the school knows the parent and the parent is still denied access to the child, it's time to rethink the situation.
My sister now homeschools.
In general, absolutely. This is another good example of why the government needs to be out of the education business.
That said, some of these stupid laws come about because of irresponsible parents who don't/won't send their kids to school regularly, so all parents and choldren pay for it. Needless to say, most of these parents don't place a real high value on education themselves and keeping their kids home is more for their own convenience than anything else.
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