Sorry, But Makeup Work Doesn't Really Make Up for Missing School
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder explains why makeup assignments can't replace the learning that happens through in-class instruction, discussion, and interaction.
Key Takeaways
- Makeup work is a poor substitute - Completing worksheets at home doesn't replicate the learning that happens during live instruction
- Plan vacations during school breaks - Pulling kids out of school for vacation sends the message that school isn't important
- Attendance matters - There's no shortcut to being present for instruction
Transcript
What parents often don't realize when they ask for makeup work so they can go on vacation during the school year is that the whole experience of a class in school can't be reduced to a packet that we can send home, right?
Like at least that was never true for my classes.
Maybe if you're reading a novel, you could send the novel.
Maybe if you're working through a textbook, like in math, the book itself can be sent home and taken on the trip.
But the whole experience of learning as we do in school can't really be taken with you on vacation.
And I think we've got to be honest with people and let them know, hey, if you need to pull your kid out of school so that you can do, you know, once in a lifetime vacation or if there's a wedding or a funeral or some other important family event, like do what you've got to do for your family and for your life.
But understand, we can't replicate the experience of getting an education in packet form.
Like we cannot truly send home makeup work that is in any way equivalent to what the kid is missing by not being in school.
Let me know what you think about this and how that works in your subject.
But like I was a science teacher.
And if you miss all of the labs, if you miss all of the discussions, if you miss all of the planning, like, yes, there are some papers that I could send home.
I'm not going to have them weeks in advance.
I don't think that's reasonable.
But even if I did, you wouldn't be able to do them on your own because we do them in class.
A lot of it's collaborative.
A lot of it requires being there for the teaching.
A lot of it requires actually doing the lab.
And I can't just send that home.
And when I hear that a lot of families now are booking vacations during the school year on purpose because it's cheaper like everybody would like to save money i understand that going at lower demand times can save you money on vacations like school is important don't pull your kid out of school just to go on vacation just to save a little bit of money like they need to be there for their education let me know what you think