#i ran discussions with tas about equitable and research-based teaching practices for two years

[quantummindclassicalheart]

As educator and philosopher Nel Noddings put it, "The student is infinitely more important than the subject matter." Noddings pioneered the idea of an "Ethics of care" in education, i.e. the responsibility of recognizing the needs of others and addressing those needs with competence, responsiveness, and respect.

It seems obvious to say, but the goal of education and educational structures should be learning. Used responsibly, attendance can be a tool to support equity-- if students are repeatedly missing class, that's an opportunity to reach out to them, ask if there are unseen obstacles to their learning (cf. Devon Price's Laziness Does Not Exist), and work with students to help address them if so.

When attendance itself becomes the goal, rather than a structure to support learning, something's gone wrong.

When I say “school should be disability accessible”, I don’t just mean we need handicap rails and EAs. Kids should be able to miss a day without failing out of school. You shouldn’t be dismissed from clubs because your attendance record is “spotty” (true story). I once missed an entire week of school because of a terrible, unending migraine. I was expected to keep up with my studies despite the blinding pain that came with working on my computer. When I heard my teachers say that you couldn’t miss exams, I asked what I would have to do to be excused from them. Their response? “Either get a doctor’s note an hour before the exam or death of an immediate family member.”

I cannot express how rigid this expectation was. First of all, with my condition, I wouldn’t have enough warning about my sickness to go to the doctor and request a note. For many people, this is exceptionally difficult, especially with the current shortage of medical professionals. Next, it ignores the fact that my schedule may not line with theirs because of my medical needs. Once, I had to visit a hospital a province away (which I was on the waiting list of for over a year) on the same day as an exam. I begged my mother not to take me because I was so nervous that I would be marked as an automatic fail. I was lucky enough to make it work, but that’s only because of my spectacular support system consisting of family members and wonderful doctors.

Disabilities aren’t always about needing a bus that can accommodate wheelchairs. It’s already difficult enough for many of us to maintain school attendance without the harsh punishments involved for skipping a day. We need to be able to miss school without being punished. Only than can you claim that the school is “accessible”