Daniel Schwartz did all the work for his Advanced Placement U.S. History class last spring. He worked hard, learned the material and received a 5 on the AP exam.
But health issues forced the Evanston Township High School senior to miss more classes than the school allowed. So he didn't received credit for the class, which may affect his college chances and prevent him from graduating with his classmates.
Now Schwartz is fighting to change the ETHS attendance policy to "value learning over presence." The policy currently states that students will not receive credit for a class if they miss eight days for any reason.
"If you have an 'A' or a 'B' in a class, there should be a process where you can get credit," Schwartz said. "I don't see why they wouldn't do that."
Administrators haven't been receptive to the 17-year-old's suggestion.
"Maybe he's a really bright boy and picks up history quickly," said school board member Jane Colleton. "But if everyone wanted to absent themselves from class simply because they thought they were too smart for a lecture, the system would collapse."
Colleton learned of Schwartz's suggestion when the student gave a speech to the school board at their Sept. 22 meeting. In his speech, the student explained his situation and implored the board to consider changing their policy.
School board president Martha Burns called Schwartz's story "chilling," and the board formally asked Superintendent Eric Witherspoon to look into the matter.
In an interview Tuesday, Witherspoon said the situation that Schwartz described has never happened at the school.
"We can never discuss any individual," he said. "But sometimes people might think that they had an 'A,' or maybe a passing grade, and that's not the right situation."
Administrators also highlighted the importance of the social aspect of school.
"It's much bigger than just learning," said Colleton, who called Schwartz's suggestion "juvenile" and "absurd."
Spring Break
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Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 7
1
posted 10/10/08 @ 7:54 AM CST
Mr. Schwartz you can win.
Never accept illogical rules.
Investigate your legal options.
"There is nothing permanent except change."
Diogenes Laertius
Polly Hawkins
posted 10/10/08 @ 3:36 PM CST
Mr. Schwartz,
You should know that ETHS does make exceptions, I know of at least one student who just graduated.This student had part time work of a professional nature that required travel. (Continued…)
Daniel Schwartz
posted 10/10/08 @ 8:23 PM CST
Ofcourse precences matters. I don't think more than a fraction of my case was presented. My point is simple: MY CASE RAISES THE QUESTION OF WHAT ETHS HOLD HIGHER A. (Continued…)
Daniel Schwartz
posted 10/10/08 @ 8:33 PM CST
Also it is absurd to say as a person says in the article that if students like me who excelled in a class got credit even though they had 10 absences, that in consquence if i were to get a job at starbucks i would just show up when ever i pleased. (Continued…)
Speller
posted 10/12/08 @ 3:15 AM CST
Daniel, I'm on your side, but you probably shouldn't have skipped spelling class...
For the love of God, spell-check your posts before submitting! The combination of misspellings and ALL CAPS PHRASES is really lowering your credibility. (Continued…)
Derrick
posted 10/12/08 @ 11:50 AM CST
I'd flunk him on the basis of "exsplain" alone. Jesus.
old guy
posted 10/13/08 @ 9:29 PM CST
This is one of those cases where shutting the hell up would have been an excellent choice.
I would say the boy has a great argument and apparently at least deserves "credit" for the class, but he probably needs to hire a professional to argue it for him. (Continued…)
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