Is your public school free?
Filed under: Middle school, Public school
A good friend of mine just called to talk about something with me. Her son, who attends a public middle school, came home with his science textbook and a note from the school. The note said something like this: "I ___________ parent of __________ agree to take very good care of this textbook. If this book gets lost or damaged, I agree to pay $65 to replace it." Then, there is a place for the parent to sign.
Now, I won't mince words here, my friend is poor. She's a hard working single mom, who is going to college and taking care of all three of her kids with no help and no child support. She doesn't have an extra $65 to pay for a book that her son may or may not be able to keep in tip top shape.
So, she wrote a note to the teacher saying that she and her son would do their best to take care of the book, but that if something were to happen to it, she would not be able to replace it. Her son was then told that he could not bring the book home in order to study or do homework.
Public school, remember?
What do you think about this? I've never heard of schools doing such a thing, though I can understand their frustration with destroyed materials. Does your public school have such policies in place? What would you do in her shoes?Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments