“For almost two years, we told families that school can look different and that schoolwork could be accomplished in times outside of the traditional 8-to-3 day,” Elmer Roldan, who runs a dropout prevention group, told The Los Angeles Times. “The most fundamental thing for adults to understand is that avoidance feeds anxiety,” Damour told me. But the problem with giving in to that anxiety is that avoidance is highly reinforcing.” The more often students skip school, the harder it becomes to get back in the habit of going. And the rise in chronic absenteeism is indeed a sign that schools need help. One promising step would be to make teaching a more appealing job, Damour notes, in order to attract more great teachers.

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Persons: ” Elmer Roldan, ” Lisa Damour, ”, ” Damour, Damour Organizations: Los Angeles Times