When one places 2153 teenagers into one building, packed twenty five or more to a room, there is an unfortunate reality to be faced: Kids are going to get sick. No matter how much hand-washing, mask wearing, and hug avoiding is done, illness spreads like wildfire.
There is, of course, one obvious remedy that quells the spread of sickness at school: Staying home. If only anyone would actually do it.
It seems almost foreign to hear of kids actually missing school due to being ill. Students who are sick will slap a mask on, pop an Advil, chug an emergen-C and continue to attend classes as if nothing is amiss.
But why? Not only is attending school sick a risk to the student themself, it’s also blatantly selfish to those around them. Coming to class ill means there is a very high likelihood you are going to spread that sickness to peers.
There are several reasons for which a student might feel pressured into attending school while they are not feeling well.
High achieving students in advanced classes might feel forced to attend for fear of falling behind. Students are responsible for completing all the work they missed while absent, in addition to their own coursework.
Families also play a part in forcing students to go to school. Parents of more lackadaisical kids might accuse their child of ‘exaggerating’ or ‘trying to get out of their responsibilities.’ Further, if a child dares to get sick during school hours, many parents are unequipped to pick them up from school, leaving students stranded and unable to go home.
Schools themselves are not innocent of pressuring attendance either. Kids who miss a lot of school might be faced with threats ranging from minor penalties to expulsion. If a child is genuinely sick often, they are then required to obtain doctor’s notes, but securing Healthcare for something like a minor cold costs time and money which many cannot afford. This generates fear surrounding absences and further encourages students to forsake their own health in favor of good attendance.
But what is the underlying issue causing this effect?
Society in general has little respect for extenuating circumstances which prevent people from attending both work and school. Illness, injury, family emergencies and other roadblocks are read as ‘excuses’ to avoid working, a toxic mindset which places productivity over individual’s wellbeing.
Going to work and school sick endangers all parties involved, and it is a human right to work in safe and sanitary conditions.So next time you are thinking about ‘toughing it out’?
Stay home.
