Playing Hooky

     It's that time of year again. Summer is starting to wind down (except in places like Texas, where it stays hot until November) and school is getting ready to start back up. Well, except in Virginia - Richmond kids still have until the day after Labor Day before school starts. Growing up, August was always a "sad" month for me in the sense that it meant summer was winding down, school was on the horizon, and the novelty/fun of summer has long passed and it's just plain hot. Admittedly, it's a little more enjoyable now that I don't have to go back to school anymore. In some ways, it's still a weird feeling that I don't - and I definitely have never had bad dreams that involve taking a test or being in classes since graduating.

     Before I go any further in writing about school, I need to get this on the record: School. Is. Important. This post is by no means to bash school and say that it's not important - quite the opposite! School is important and there is a value to it, much more so than staying at home and playing video games or watching TV.  Okay, now that I've put that out there, I will continue. 

     What I'm about to say may be an unpopular opinion for teachers, administrators, and educators alike: in certain contexts and circumstances, it is okay to miss school and "play hooky". There, I wrote it. Again, this isn't me advocated for students to turn in to Ferris Bueller and skip school every chance we get. This is to say that there are certain instances where it is okay to do so. 

     School truly is important. It provides an opportunity for students to learn, make friends, and grow as people. There's a lot of learning, education, and growing up that does take place in school. Naturally, it's important that we go to school. Well, that and students are kind of legally required to have some form of schooling up until a certain age - be it public school, private school, home school, etc. 

    Since going to school is something that's required by law, truancy or skipping are generally going to be frowned upon by teachers and administrators- as it should be. After all, it's hard to truly argue that playing video games or going to the mall is more important than learning. However, there are those times where missing school is worth it, namely this one: going on a trip or being with family. 

     While school is important, it is also important to spend time with one's family. If a student goes to school Kindergarten through 12th grade and 4 years of college, that adds up to 17 years of education and going to school. A 180-day school year for 13 years adds up to over 2,300 school days, plus countless nights studying for tests/quizzes or working on assignments/projects. And that doesn't even factor in college, where there may not be as many classes ongoing, but the assignments/projects become more in-depth and the exams take on a greater importance. 

     Over the course of 13 years, there's 2,340 school days. If a student were to miss one day each year to go on fun times with family, that would add up to 13 absences, or less than 1% of all school days. There's always going to be more for students to learn - the learning never does stop. With that, it's hard to say that missing a few days of school to go on a family trip will make or break one's education. The homework and assignments will always be there for the foreseeable future, but family time may or may not be. At the end of the day, what will a student remember more: the time they went to Disney World or the Grand Canyon with their family or the time they learned about Bleeding, Kansas or how to diagram a sentence? 

     For my brother, sister, and I, we each got to go on a special trip with our Dad for one of our birthdays. Coincidentally enough, we all ended up picking states bunched together - my brother picked Iowa, my sister picked Illinois, and I picked Wisconsin. So for my 9th birthday, I got to go on a special trip with my Dad to Wisconsin. We spent the weekend in Green Bay and walked around Lambeau Field, where the Packers play. We even ran into Chad Clifton (former Packers lineman)! It was a really fun trip, one that I look back fondly on to this day. That Wisconsin upset Ohio State in football that same weekend (Lee Evans for the win!) was icing on the cake. From what I remember, this took place over Columbus Day weekend. While that Monday was going to be a day off from school, for some reason it wasn't. Naturally, this meant missing a day of school. While I don't know what I missed in school that day, I can say with confidence that I got more out of that trip with my dad than anything I would have learned in school that day. There's a lot from third grade I don't remember, but I'll always remember that trip.

     I am thankful to my dad for taking me to Wisconsin for my birthday that year. It was a wonderful present. The father-son bond is a strong and special bond. Really, any parent-child bond is a strong one. It is important for a child to spend quality time with their parents. It may even be more important because those childhood years are crucial to a child’s development. And while education is a lifelong process, childhood is a more defined period of time.

    Again, all of this is to say that school truly is important and shouldn't be treated as something that should get "skipped" all the time. It is to say that if one does get the chance, go on those trips with family. If it means missing a day or two of school, that's okay. Another way to put is this way: being an adult means having the ability to eat chocolate cake for dinner every night. Being a responsible adult means only doing that on the rarest of occasions. Go to school and eat your vegetables on a regular basis, and it will make those rare occasions where you miss school and eat cake all the more special. 

     To close, there's a great early episode of Boy Meets World that echoes this sentiment. In it, Cory stays up late with his dad to watch a no-hitter baseball game. This results in Cory not getting enough sleep and failing his test the next day, which leads to an argument between his father and Mr. Feeny, Cory's teacher and next door neighbor. At the end of the episode, Mr. Feeny talks with Cory about the grand process of education, a process that takes years and goes far beyond memories names, dates, and events. He closes by saying that this process is so grand, that it really can't be threatened by an occasional late night no-hitter or, in this instance, a trip to Wisconsin. Education is a lifelong process, one that transcends schooling. 

     Well, unless you're in the Richmond, VA area, it really is "Back to School" time. Make it a good school year, learn a lot, and go to classes. There really is a value in being present and going to class. Unless you're missing class to go on a trip to Wisconsin with family, of course.  

Still waiting to get a call from the Packers about backing up Aaron Rodgers