Comment by ejk314 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ejk314 | Hacker News Reader

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I can't really picture a system where 20% of teacher are absent on any given day... and since I can't picture it I feel like I'm not really getting the whole picture. The article just gives a single paragraph to blame the unions and doesn't really dive into the issue. So I looked into it:

http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/pdf/outputs/systematicreviews/Q39Teac...

The primary reasons for absenteeism seem to be personal/family health (which, granted, that could be bullshit if it was self-reported) and work related requirements (training, etc.)

Several studies showed correlation between poverty and absenteeism, which suggests to me that teachers who have less financial resources to deal with personal issues are going to miss work more often to go deal with those issues.

It was also noted that administrators were absent more often than teachers and the author suggested this as being a factor in teacher absenteeism.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-28684751

http://qz.com/247389/teachers-who-dont-show-up-to-work-cost-...

I regret I accidentally upvoted you when I meant to downvote, please excuse the Sony fat fingers. (Don't buy unless it's Nexus or iPhone, kids.)

Your background assumption outside the first world should be that most people are trying to cheat you, most of the time. If this wasn't true the country would already be at least middle income, absent massive fuck ups, (communism included) or recent wars. If you doubt me I invite you to move to the richest city in any poor country.

All that said education isn't as wonderful as one might naively think. Kerala in South India is anomalously well educated compared to its neighbours but about as poor. The main thing motivating their teachers to show up compared to their neighbours is that Keralan parents beat up teachers who don't at least show up for work.

Presumably you mean the reverse (meant to upvote); the GP post seems pretty good.

It's a pretty complex issue to address - clearly if you're working another job to survive (eg farming your own land) then you may need to take time off for harvests and such. If you're in a rural location and your children are sick you may need to take days of to take them to a clinic, etc..

The first question I'd ask, I think, is do the teachers have enough money to pay for all the needs of their families. If you can't attend school for all lessons and survive then there's little benefit in assessing other enticements.

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