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13 Year Old Piano Prodigy Treated As Truant By Public School System

Slyfox696 said:
Once more, the "quick to outrage" community is beaten back by more information and facts. It's amazing how people still take the word of the parents without ever considering what the school might say. Considering how often the parents who go to the media lie about what actually happened, it simply boggles my mind people don't wait for more information.
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If you read those links you'd see the Chancellor is lying and the original story is accurate. The Chancellor is simply trying to excuse the district's behavior.

Petula Dvorak responded to DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson's statements yesterday claiming that her original column "[presents] a false representation of DCPS" and the case of student piano prodigy Avery Gagliano.

In her new column, Dvorak defends herself from Henderson's statements, writing that "Avery’s mom, Ying Lam, stands by her account. And I stand by mine." Dvorak says that Avery's parent's decision to withdraw her from Alice Deal Middle School and homeschool her came after a barrage of emails, phone calls, and letters warning of her truancy. Though they were told to "ignore the truancy notices," they were never told that Avery's absences were excused.

Though Henderson and DCPS say they want to work with Avery's family to find a solution, Lam says that's not the solution they're looking for. "[That’s not the solution Lam was hoping for," Dvorak writes. "She wanted the school system to revisit its blanket policy and treat students as individuals. She wanted a system that doesn’t say one thing, then do another."
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fedup said:
What makes someone a "star student" in your mind then??
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I spose for the purposes of this topic we can start with one who isn't violating any school rule, regulation, policy etc ...
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Excon said:
I spose for the purposes of this topic we can start with one who isn't violating any school rule, regulation, policy etc ...
grin.gif
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If your measure of a "good student" is how much they follow the rules and assimilate into the education system rather than their legitimate academic achievement, you have some problems.
 
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Excon said:
I spose for the purposes of this topic we can start with one who isn't violating any school rule, regulation, policy etc ...
grin.gif
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She wasn't violating any school rule or policy. The school has the ability to excuse absences, even for these things. They were refusing based on bull**** reasons until they were called out on it.
 
roguenuke said:
She wasn't violating any school rule or policy. The school has the ability to excuse absences, even for these things. They were refusing based on bull**** reasons until they were called out on it.
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iLOL
Then it is a violation. Duh! :doh
 
fedup said:
If your measure of a "good student" is how much they follow the rules and assimilate into the education system rather than their legitimate academic achievement, you have some problems.
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Those who seek to preserve the remaining authoritarian institutions of our country have no boundaries.
 
fedup said:
If your measure of a "good student" is how much they follow the rules and assimilate into the education system rather than their legitimate academic achievement, you have some problems.
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No. The problem appears to be yours.
Academic achievement alone does not make one a star student.
 
Excon said:
iLOL
Then it is a violation. Duh! :doh
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That's not what the Chancellor is saying. She says there is no violation and to just ignore those pesky notices that keep coming.
 
clownboy said:
That's not what the Chancellor is saying. She says there is no violation and to just ignore those pesky notices that keep coming.
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:doh
And yet they were given and the supposed tune changed after the fact.
 
TheNextEra said:
Pretty much. I would also add zero tolerance is just laziness of the administrators and teachers.
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Thing is, i don't see zero tolerance going on here. They exercised discretion and counted the absences as excused. That sounds like the opposite of zero tolerance.
 
Excon said:
iLOL
Then it is a violation. Duh! :doh
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When the policy is a bull**** policy, that is based on "zero tolerance" or treating everyone the same, it is not a valid policy. Even they admitted that she should have been excused for this. So no it wasn't. If it was, why would they change their tone about it?
 
Kushinator said:
Those who seek to preserve the remaining authoritarian institutions of our country have no boundaries.
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Maybe you can help us out here.
Where did the school declare her a star student?
 
Excon said:
No. The problem appears to be yours.
Academic achievement alone does not make one a star student.
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The goal of a student is to learn. If the students learns, learns well, and shows that through straight As...that does in fact make them a good student. If they do that on top of being a piano prodigy traveling around the world, then they are definitely a star student.
 
roguenuke said:
When the policy is a bull**** policy, that is based on "zero tolerance" or treating everyone the same, it is not a valid policy. Even they admitted that she should have been excused for this. So no it wasn't. If it was, why would they change their tone about it?
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Oy Vey. :doh
Treating everybody the same is a valid policy. It is called being treated as equals.
 
Excon said:
No. The problem appears to be yours.
Academic achievement alone does not make one a star student.
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Academic achievement and not showing any discipline problems does make one a "star" student. There is no indication she violated any rules. She should have been excused for those days she missed, even the school is now saying that she was after the fact.
 
Excon said:
No. The problem appears to be yours.
Academic achievement alone does not make one a star student.
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Would you consider a student that shows up on time, sits at the back of the class and does nothing to be a star student?

If academic performance is not the gauge, then just following the rules is?
 
fedup said:
The goal of a student is to learn. If the students learns, learns well, and shows that through straight As...that does in fact make them a good student. If they do that on top of being a piano prodigy traveling around the world, then they are definitely a star student.
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Simply no.
It does not make them a star student.
 
sangha said:
Thing is, i don't see zero tolerance going on here. They exercised discretion and counted the absences as excused. That sounds like the opposite of zero tolerance.
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Would that have happened without the barrage of emails and maybe media attention?
 
Excon said:
No. The problem appears to be yours.
Academic achievement alone does not make one a star student.
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Who could forget submissive behavior. They need good factory workers in China. We need good programmers and engineers. Our current education system risks becoming obsolete if it cannot adapt to the demands of both the modern economy and institutions. Our ability to make good on future obligations depends on how prepared American children are a globalized playing field.
 
Mason66 said:
Would you consider a student that shows up on time, sits at the back of the class and does nothing to be a star student?

If academic performance is not the gauge, then just following the rules is?
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Simply getting A's does not make one a star student.
 
Excon said:
Oy Vey. :doh
Treating everybody the same is a valid policy. It is called being treated as equals.
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No. Treating everyone the same is not the same as treating every equally. There is a difference. Students should be given consideration for things they do and their achievements, or even just family issues that can legitimately be seen as a reason to be out of school. So long as these things are not negatively affecting their actual learning, then these should be considerations made.
 
Excon said:
Maybe you can help us out here.
Where did the school declare her a star student?
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Maybe you can find where i said they declared her a star student? Otherwise, do try and make a relevant point!
 
Excon said:
Simply getting A's does not make one a star student.
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Kids are at school for one reason. That is to learn.

A star student is someone that gets A's. There is no other measure.
 
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