On Friday 13 may, Britain’s Supreme court issued a landmark decision: he sided with the Pope, who took his daughter to Disneyland during the school year, and then refused to pay the penalty for, quote, “unauthorized absence.”
In the past academic year, the local councils, for example, has written 64 thousand fines to parents who have decided that it is cheaper to pay the fine than full price for a vacation by the sea during school holidays.
Indeed, the situation sometimes reaches the point of absurdity. I will try to tell, using your personal experience of the struggle for common sense.
Black shoes and an ultimatum
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Image captionВот these school shoes for a little girl are quite acceptable, but in large sizes they are no longer produced. Sorry.
“Mother, I beg you, the child looked at me with unfeigned alarm,” please don’t!”
“I must, – I was adamant that someone needs to put a stop to this!”
“Only after the exams! – joined the conversation the second daughter, “mom, they’re so you and I can’t stand, and then we, too, will get”.
Just do not think, please, that we have talked about the heroic construction of barricades in the centre of London, or that I single-handedly decided to storm the Parliament.
It was much easier: I once again promised to “deal” with their school.
This time the attack of righteous anger caused me to have a requirement of the Department for extracurricular work (in English it’s called student services) to urgently buy child black shoes.
Old really fell apart (still don’t understand what the daughter is doing with the shoes, but she’s not on it just “burns”, and “explodes” with instantaneous and complete disintegration). New, to be honest, I did not want to buy, because starting from the next academic year, school uniforms are no longer required: high school student can walk in his own way. Until the end of the learning process this year was a little more than a month, and shoes on a young girl with a foot size, exceeding my, are expensive.
The school has warned that the grey shoes are not suitable in any way, and that on Monday if the Mouse will come in something other than black, then they will remove them forcibly, pulled on her duty sports sneaker, and in General troubles then I will not be gathered.
Dictatorship as it is
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Image captionИногда I think that student services would like it to look something like this…
Now, I suppose I should give a little explanation. Student services in English schools have absolute authority over students and their parents in everything which does not directly concern education.
If by a happy coincidence, doing extracurricular work, good and kind people, then your child can complete elementary or even secondary education, and you will be happy in the misconception that school is math with literature and history and geography, not barracks requirements as to form, hairstyle and shoes.
In addition, these people are responsible for attendance. And here is already beginning a full dictatorship, like in Cambodia since Pol Pot, Uganda’s IDI Amin era or France in the time of Robespierre. (If you like other historical examples, then screw them yourself.)
How to get help, which is not given
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Image captionПохоже a fairy tale: “And now go to the doctor and get help, which is not given”
Of course, attending classes is necessary, and skipping it is not good. However, children sometimes get sick. If on each day of absence required a doctor’s note, as in the Soviet school, then, frankly, it would be easier.
Here you find yourself in an impossible situation when the school requires evidence that your child is really sick, and the doctors refuse to write any reference earlier than a week because five days, even the children, have a right to be ill on parole.
The first rounds in the clash with this system I have been outright lost. And not because I do not know how to cope with the usual rudeness or rudeness, but because at the last moment, when I was already ready to declare a real war, I joined the internal censor, who reminded that military actions can affect the children, and it is completely useless.
Everything depends on the fact that that damned winter is one of my babies was missing one cold after another and was down with a cough and temperature.
To begin with I could not understand why, if I call on Monday with the message that the child lies quiet and sad with a 39-degree fever, do I have to call on Tuesday to confirm that the child was still unwell.
You show me at least one doctor, at least one parent who will push the child to school the next day after this. Even if we imagine that a miracle occurred and the temperature fell in one day.
It turned out that the school thus take care of the safety of children: what if they went to school, and with them on the way something happened? On the one hand, it is a reasonable approach, on the other – well, turn on you with a modicum of common sense!
Prove that the child is sick
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Image captionА recipes at all business strictly confidential, and none of them require you cannot
At that time, when I called the fourth day in a row with the same information that the temperature is, the cough is strong and generally bad, received in response to the irritated rebuke:
“I can’t allow you to stay home,” said the chief aunt in attendance.
(So you know who I’m dealing with, imagine the head of the meat Department in the Soviet grocery store. I still am surprised that she doesn’t speak Russian and doesn’t say a sacramental phrase: “You a lot, and I have one.”)
We held the conversation looked like this:
– Charlie attendance approaches 90% (this is the fatal limit, after which the child is considered truant systematic). I need a letter from the doctor that it really hurts.
– And how do I take it, when the clinic inquiries in the first week does not give?
– Bring a prescription for a cure!
– Do you realize that this is confidential information which I have you can request only by court order?
– Bring the coupon on reception to the doctor! (No coupons actually nobody gives, from hospital, at your request, can write on the card, like a business card, the time and hour of admission, if you are afraid to forget it all.)
– For that I need to drag it to the clinic, and she has a fever, she’s coughing, and cold outside, wind and rain.
– Or you can bring them, or I will write you truancy!
It was after this I decided to slightly slow down as he realized that against such pressure, devoid of any logic, I can’t resist.
Against scrap no reception…
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Image captionА if it will undertake a social workers, you have to seriously prove that you’re a good mother
Just in case I decided to consult with a lawyer on the question of what rights I, as a parent in this situation have.
It turned out that no. The school also has the right to demand the intervention of social services, if they consider that I’m fulfilling my maternal duties improperly, and then I have to prove that actually I’m quite a caring mother.
A letter that the child is really unwell, I got our GP, which explained the whole situation. Fortunately, she is a person that knows besides me, and all of our family knows quite well.
And the fractures should heal in one day!
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Image captionА fractures, should heal in 24 hours
This confrontation happened a year and a half ago, when the Mouse is somehow very unsuccessfully jumped off from a bench in gym class and lame.
By evening, the ankle and foot swelled and acquired a crimson tint. The child was wet with tears and flatly refused to step on the foot. Had to drag the sufferer to the hospital where in the emergency room decided that it was most likely a fracture, although not strong. More precisely, they can not say anything, it is necessary that, first, slept the tumor, secondly, that baby looked specialist. Leg just in case, rolled it in plaster and told to stay home and not rock the boat, we’ll call in two days and tell us when to go see the doctor.
It was a Friday. On Monday, I honestly called the school and warned that a child is on crutches, leg in plaster, we sit at home, homework must be sent from the sister, and as soon as I hear anything, immediately and call.
Talked to me in that day, surprisingly politely, strongly reassured and Mouse wished for a speedy recovery.
Now imagine my surprise when on Tuesday morning, my workflow was rudely interrupted by receiving an SMS reading:
“Michelle didn’t come today to school, wrote a harsh aunt of student services, immediately let us know what’s going on, or you’ll be in big trouble.”
I admit, not very often, but it happens in my life such moments, when I’m just overwhelmed by anger, and I literally fly into a rage, like a cat Leopold after taking a medication called “ozverina”.
Trembling with rage the hands I dialed the school. Fortunately for all concerned, no one answered and the answering machine politely told me to leave a message.
“Says mom Michelle,” I said in a quiet and insinuating voice, which slightly trembled from barely restrained emotions. – I called you YESTERDAY and said she broke her leg and her arm was put in plaster. I told you YESTERDAY that she was told to stay home a week, until the swelling to go down and it will not consult specialist. Nevertheless, TODAY you TEXT me demanding to explain why she’s not in school. Do you seriously think that the fracture heals in one day? Let me please know whom I should contact to confirm that the fractures are overgrown a bit longer than 24 hours, because you, obviously, have the firm belief that IT is not more dangerous than a pimple on your nose. I’m ready to contact the local Council to the Department of education for clarification”.
Haha, that happened! The school called back within five minutes. Apology, saying that the computer generates this TEXT automatically, that they neither sleep nor spirit did not want to hurt me, that doubts about the duration of healing of fractures have no no and let the child stays home as necessary and is recovering.
You understand that to leave a final victory for me these people could not, and I retaliated that counted crumbs absenteeism, when both passed exams in music. Again, I was going to join the battle, but the children begged me not to. That’s when I learned that aunt of student services hate me, what I know not only my own children, but also their friend.
“This woman – so, supposedly, it was said one of them squeezes out of school all she had!”
The law is the law
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Image captionКогда school manages the dictator…
And if school (some, anyway) behave in this manner when there are no laws about what shoes you should wear and how often about sickness of the child report, I can imagine what begins to happen with the appropriate legislation.
The thing is that in their struggle for attendance of education officials decided to fine parents if they take children for a week during the school year to go with them on vacation.
Believe me, they do it not from a desire to humiliate the system, but solely because the leave during school holidays will cost you many times more expensive than during the school year.
Theoretically, the school Director may allow the child to take, almost it’s almost unreal.
I easily negotiated a few times with a very liberal headmistress of our primary school, which was so liberal that the form wasn’t paying attention. And obviously, I wasn’t even trying to crawl with this request to the current school.
So the fact that the Pope named John Platt managed by the Supreme court to defend their right to take my daughter to Disneyland during the school year gives me a sense of profound satisfaction!
A breakthrough, or a temporary otsutplenii?
Image captionА here triumphant and Papa John’s. “Is it possible that 100 of thousands of parents are so incompetent that they need to pull in court?” he said after the verdict
The Supreme court (honestly, I’m ready to kiss these people), decided that since John’s daughter attends the school regularly, to accuse her of “systematic strolling” (this wording is in the law) is unjust and, therefore, Mr. Platt has every right no fine to pay.
Representatives of the education authorities became sad, saying all the media that this judge’s decision has opened a Pandora’s box, and now, they say, all parents orderly will be to take away the children in a cheap vacation, refusing to pay fines.
Parents, on the contrary, was glad that common sense still prevailed.
But, you know, I have no doubt that the school will back it up. It is very a pity to part with power, especially if it manages to cover the care of children.
I wonder will John Pope to transfer my daughter to another school, or will cost?
