Boston kids crying wolf a bit too much these days

The following recent experience is why I wonder if the kids panicked because of administrator zeal about tardy and absent students. Not that it excuses their false alarms by any measure, but because it may explain the "rash" of wolf cries.

My middle schooler was upset that he might have to repeat a grade despite being on honor roll because he's been absent 18 times for three separate bouts of the flu (verified) and one case of what appeared to be a stomach virus.

I asked him where he got that idea and he said the assistant principal had been hounding him, saying they were "unexcused" absences and he could be held back if he logged any more. W.T.F??!!??

First of all, why wasn't this taken up with us ... you know, his parents? We knew of the absences, sure, and were notified - we were never told anything about hold backs or that they were somehow "unexcused". Should we just bring him in to the vice principals office so he can vomit on his desk?? Secondly, the written rules (that I had to fish out of the district's website - the only written copy our son received was on the back of a form that he had to sign and return) said no such thing - they only say a parent conference may be required after 15 unexcused absences, and grade repeat might occur if there were more than 25 lost days. Third, we wrote notes for him each time, and we submitted a doctor's note for the three influenza incidents.

Suffice it to say, I was quite angry that my son was in tears and begging to be taken to school with a 103F fever when he was too sick to walk across the room! All out of fear of a fifteenth absence and "rules" that didn't exist because some sadistic jerkwad was feeding him bullcrap and not gettting the record straight, not attempting to get the appropriate information from us, OR even attempting to meet with or call us. This in a year that has seen the most severe flu epidemic in nearly a decade and the most prolonged in a quarter century!

While these kids who claimed abduction need to answer for their behavior, my experience with scaremongering by administrators leads me to think that maybe some questions should be asked about how the administration is communicating with these students - are they verbally berating them in group assemblies and individually like this peter principal was? Giving the kids the idea that it might be worth telling a juicy lie because there will be very horrific yet mysterious consequences if they are late or absent? Or are they clearly communicating written policies and sending home notes detailing procedures for students and parents to read together and sign?

It has been a bad year for attendance - largely due to the epidemics that have eaten a week per bug that these administrators don't seem to know about ... are they terrifying the kids so much now that the year is coming to a close that a horrendous lie looks like a good bet?

She punched me (no marks) until I told the truth.