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I think it is important to be smart about using your absences. It is OKAY to take breaks but it is also imperative to be present for your students 100% of the time. virtual platforms are making it easier to be reliable

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I think most teachers try to be there as often as they can for their students. I think it is important to be consistent with routines/procedures and to teach students to be self-sufficient so that their learning isn't negatively impacted when you are gone one day. I think it is also important to be as prepared and proactive if you know ahead of time that you are going to be gone.

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When we spend time creating a positive class culture and have built in structure and intentionality, our kids will be fine when we take a day.

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I have two friends who are highly qualified who have applied to be subs and have had no response from the district.

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I'm not gone often, but when I am, it's for a GOOD reason...lesson plans aren't worth it. I can't care for my 160+ students if I can't care for myself.

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I think ultimately, it falls on the responsibility of the teacher to create consistent procedures and expectations around being absent. We also must create a positive learning environment in their classroom to where, regardless of if they are absent or not, the learning environment will thrive.

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I'm sure if you ask the teachers from Rhode Island WHY they need to be gone the district might realize there is a REASON. Maybe instead of pointing fingers they need to get to the bottom of it.

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Teacher attendance at the HS has always been tied to moral.  This is also a very old article. 

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Teacher attendance at the HS has always been tied to moral.  This is also a very old article. 

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I don't like the idea behind this article. This is yet another way to place blame on the teacher. Paid leave is a  benefit of MOST professions and being ridiculed for needing to take advantage of those benefits is ridiculous. 

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I don't like the idea behind this article. This is yet another way to place blame on the teacher. Paid leave is a  benefit of MOST professions and being ridiculed for needing to take advantage of those benefits is ridiculous. 

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Wondering how the mandate will impact teacher absences (perhaps long term) and exacerbate the sub shortage?

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I feel there are very few teachers who take time off when it is not necessary. Any suggestion that our time off is not needed is an insult to us. The district gives us the leave time, so why should we not take it when we need it?

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This whole article made me feel bad/sad.  I have a massive stock pile of sick days, and luckily a bunch of money rolled into my Veba from unused personal leave days because I rarely use my leave, but the feeling that I get from this article, that students are failing because I am gone, just doesn't sit great with me.  I already felt like a terrible teacher last year due to lack of engagement....

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What was the intent of us reading this article?

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If we do have criteria for being absent, then students need to be held accountable too.  Drivers Ed is not a legit reason for missing class

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If we do have criteria for being absent, then students need to be held accountable too.  Drivers Ed is not a legit reason for missing class

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Many of my absences tend to come from district pullouts: trainings, meetings, etc. that happen during the school day instead of in the evenings

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It does seem that teacher absenteeism can be high. Through my experiences though, there is seldom or never a conversation at the district level at taking care of teachers in order to reduce absenteeism. This is especially true for teacher mental health.

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It's easier to come to school sick BUT.....

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It's easier to come to school sick BUT.....

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It is far easier to just come to school sick than to plan for subs, clean up their "teaching," or lose a day because they didn't do the sub plans you laid out for them. However, we have appointments, life, etc. that happen during the weekday, and it is inevitable that we be absent sometimes. I am not a fan of the suggestion that we purchase insurance and are financially penalized for being absent. That is assuming all teachers are lazy and WANT to be absent, when the reality is we WANT to be with our kids.

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It think it is important to have clear, transparent expectations. A good work environment culture thrives on respect and hard work. If pressure or distrust is used when workers use given benefits, culture becomes negative.

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The article repeatedly mentions the financial cost of teacher absences. If the cost is really a concern, why not reduce class sizes so there are fewer students to focus on? Fewer students = fewer papers to grade and fewer parents to contact = less personal time away from my family. This would make for a less stressed teacher.

Science has repeatedly shown that stress can lead to illness. Stress me out less and I'll be absent less.

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I think that using this old of an article, unrelated and irrelevant to a pandemic, is insulting and frustrating for many teachers. We don't like being absent. But what this article tells me... is that it is unacceptable to be absent because we are teachers - nowhere in the article did it mention absence rates of any other profession. I think our mental health and support for our profession are more important than being "present" to benefit the students. I think comparing our absence rates across districts, states, etc., should also be compared to what other countries dictate from their staff. Let's look at Norway and Finland, two of the HIGHEST PERFORMING COUNTRIES IN EDUCATION IN THE WORLD, and see how they treat their teachers (better than ours) and then tell us again how we can change our "absence policies", because it should be more of taking time off to increase performance versus decrease time off to save money.

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With the craziness of last year reading through the article felt like we as teachers need to ENSURE we don't get sick, need days off for appointments, family issues, death, etc. Teachers tend to give it their all and go above and beyond normally to feel shamed for having to use time off? Teacher burn out is real and burn out leads to a lower immune system.

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I cannot care more about a student's grade than they do

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I cannot care more about a student's grade than they do

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While I hate to be absent, it is so much work to be gone, I can understand why there is more teacher absence at schools where students are not very receptive to learning. It is emotionally tiring when students don't want to try.

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Being absent is so much extra work! Who really wants extra work? ~ That said, sometimes, absences cannot be avoided.

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The age of the data concerns me

Teacher dedication is a huge factor in this arena

How we prep for and select subs must enter into this conversation.

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I often find teachers are caregivers in the family as they are in the classroom.  We are responsible for our children, spouses, parents, etc.  I have worked EVERY single day I have missed for sick leave or personal leave even though I am not on campus.  This article was offensive.  Should I cancel my annual cancer screening because it happens during a school day?  My doctor does not work on a Saturday.  I am instructed to make a morning appointment in case I need to come back for more testing.  I will no longer put my health last to my work.  

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I often find teachers are caregivers in the family as they are in the classroom.  We are responsible for our children, spouses, parents, etc.  I have worked EVERY single day I have missed for sick leave or personal leave even though I am not on campus.  This article was offensive.  Should I cancel my annual cancer screening because it happens during a school day?  My doctor does not work on a Saturday.  I am instructed to make a morning appointment in case I need to come back for more testing.  I will no longer put my health last to my work.  

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Working with children and young adults very closely, we are often times encouraged to stay home when sick because we can expose others to illness. In other work places you may be able to "push through it" but in our profession we can expose younger ones to getting sick then face the wrath of endangering others.

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It was difficult to read this without being defensive.
DUH... when the teacher is there, students learn better... that's not rocket science.
Unfortunately there are absences that happen... we can only do as much as we can do.

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Deal with abuse of paid leave on an individual basis.

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Deal with abuse of paid leave on an individual basis.

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More restrictive policies regarding absences would punish teachers who truly need the time off for serious illnesses or to care for sick family members. If someone is abusing the system and taking too many days off, their supervisor should deal with them individually.

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I have frustrations with a lack of qualified substitutes and not knowing if I even have one. Good lesson plans are often destroyed by substitutes that can't follow simple directions or have their own agenda. Because of this, I will often still show up to work to make sure that students are learning rather than stay at home and lose a day of student learning

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The time of this article is very different from now. How do we get current numbers and adjust for the crazy extenuating circumstances of right now.

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Okay. So first of all, I never let my students use articles older than ten years. Just saying. But also, this seems like a weird year to give us this--after last year, when absences for the most part were not voluntary. Getting a sub is harder than showing up, so I show up even when I'm sick. I guess I don't understand why we are reading this. We already know our kids need us. This isn't new. There's nothing we can talk about that will change my absence count. I'm already here more often than I should be.

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I think with the fact that we already have so many vacation days built into our year that it's tough to justify needing more for non-illness related situations. Many factors are out of our control though, like family situations or sickness. Plus the amount of work I have to somehow get to a sub sounds like a nightmare.

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I found it interesting that schools with a high population of African American or Latino students are more exposed to teacher absences. 

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I found it interesting that schools with a high population of African American or Latino students are more exposed to teacher absences. 

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It resonated with me that school culture is a factor in teacher absences. I wonder though, in COVID, and post-COVID times, if it will be culturally unacceptable to come to work with a cold.

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It resonated with me that school culture is a factor in teacher absences. I wonder though, in COVID, and post-COVID times, if it will be culturally unacceptable to come to work with a cold.

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I agree that teacher absences can be problem, rather than make it harder for teachers to be absent, however, I think we should be talking about the root causes. Happy people want to be at work.

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The data should be broken down for educators personal/PD before comparing it to industries that don't require an absence/sub for PD.

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I am curious of the absences sited in the article include coaching and district absences (meetings)?

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I am curious of the absences sited in the article include coaching and district absences (meetings)?

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I'm conflicted because there are times we need to take days for self-care. Teaching is one of the most demanding jobs and to be honest if I need to take a day I'm going to. It's better to be sick at home than sick at school. Let's face it- if I'm going to put in the effort to plan for a sub, then it was a much needed absence.

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I disagree with the premise of the article. Teaching is already a high-stress profession. Use your sick days and personal days to your heart's content. Go Chiefs.

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I really find this article offensive. I shouldn't be made to feel guilty for using my sick days when needed and using my personal leave.

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I feel the article didn't go over cleanliness of the schools. If a class has more students, the teacher is exposed to more. Why in the article don't they go over cleanliness standards of schools observed and are teachers less likely to take time off if the school regularly sanitizes or decreases class size/exposure?

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It's far too much work to prepare for a sub. I'd rather be in the classroom than absent.

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It's far too much work to prepare for a sub. I'd rather be in the classroom than absent.

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No teacher likes to be absent, but we may be sick or need a mental health day. Don't always put the onus on teachers to be the ones responsible for student success/failure.

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I don't like to be absent. Also in our current situation a cough or scratch throat are a little different than a common cold. ANNNDD on even NORMAL school years mental health for teachers is important. Sometimes a small break allows teachers to not feel as overwhelmed and able to do their best teaching.

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Mostly I feel really left out that nobody has colluded with me for days off to do a spa day. I'm in room 411 if you want to talk about resort options.

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First of all, this article is very old-2010.... I just thought it was interesting that we would have this article at this time when there are so many unknowns due to the variant and the pandemic...We just signed a contract saying if we were sick, we would stay home. I for one, don't want to get sick. I hate being sick, but I have been sick a lot these past two years...I think a lot of teachers have. We've been up against a lot these last couple of years aside from having to learn to teach online...