We declare the school closed..

and no; this is not on account of the CWG2010

An SMS from the school principal reached us. It gave a really interesting reason why the school our daughter goes to will have an “extended weekend”.

The school, says the SMS, is finding it really tough to focus on finishing the revision work before the “half-yearly” exams starting next week, because the large-scale absenteeism of students.

So, the school decided against having its teachers face empty classrooms; it thought it was best to declare a holiday.

Hmm.. first, let me admit that our daughter was unwilling to attend anyway as were apparently all her friends (we spoke to several parents, and it is true).

But, why is attending school seen as such a useless activity?

Why would our children think that staying back and preparing for exams will earn better dividends?

And, to me this is the most important: are grades so critical? Even for a 13 year old?