Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Patrick- "Hello, please try hard to get to school by 9 o'clock"

One thing that is a big difference from the schools I attended is that teachers call truant students in the morning-- and later, if they still haven't shown up.

School starts roughly at 8, but the first class isn't until 8:50. So, before that, there are some meetings for students and teachers etc. During these meetings, if the student hasn't arrived, their homeroom teacher calls home and the conversation will go something like this:

T: "Hello, is this student x?"
S: "Yes."
T: "Why aren't you here at school?"
S: Excuse.
T: "Forget that and come to school in the next thirty minutes."
S: Mumbles something.
T: "I'm serious. You better be here by x o'clock."
S: "Ok."

I find it amusing, but maybe I shouldn't. Actually what's surprising is that despite the relative lack of penalty for truancy (you can't get expelled, for example), most students still come to school on time every day.

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