Oy vey! I love to drive; I really do…but this month is hitting an extreme. For my job as dean of students at an online school, I do a bit of traveling to attend court for students who are truant. Today I am in Hibbing, MN. Where is that? Google it. Next week, I will be in Thief River Falls, MN. And the week after that, I will be in International Falls, MN – almost in Canada! Fun stuff…and tiring. I left my house this morning just after 6 a.m. (not on time, by the way), and I was thankful that my maps were correct in their estimation rather of how long it takes to get there. Today is a long day.
How can a student be truant in an online school?
Great question! It is the question that consumes most of my working (and lots of other) moments.
Being truant in an online school is easier than in a traditional school. Do not be offended by this, but truancy in a traditional school can most easily be avoided by simply showing up. The student does not have to do work. The student does not even have to stay away. If the student’s butt is in the seat, the student is in attendance. In an online school, attendance is defined as the progress that a student makes. This still does not ensure that the student will pass or do quality work, but I do believe that it is one step closer to a decent requirement over the butt in seat requirement.
What are you up today?
My office is the Hibbing Public Library.
No cell phones!
Ssssh!
I can honestly say that if you are not thinking about how you can be a part of student’s life, you should consider it. Students need support networks. Every student that goes to court has a situation that makes my heart sad. I am not asking everyone to be everything for every kid. I am asking you to consider how you can be part of a network…how you can be one part of a fence that goes around a kid to support success. Maybe you are good at something…like encouraging the student to dream…
What do you think? Who was your support network? How was that network important to where you are today? What is the small thing you can do to be a part of something great?
slowingtheracingmind 