Educators Act as if Education Is Unimportant. Don’t Be Surprised When Students Believe Them

I don’t want to hear any more complaining about absenteeism in schools.

You can find stories from the New York Times, Vox, NPR, and elsewhere about the huge increase in chronic absenteeism in schools since Covid. Before Covid, 13 to 15 percent of U.S. students were chronically absent, defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year (18 or more school days in a typical 180-day school calendar). Now that number is over 25 percent. The 13 to 15 percent was troubling enough; 25 percent is terrible.