Student Opinion, Why 4-H Absences Should Be Excused in Nebraska
Launch the media gallery 1 playerImagine waking up every day, putting in countless hours into your livestock, just to learn that you won’t be able to attend a show because you can’t miss another day of school. This happens all the time to people that show livestock in states where 4-H is not considered an excused absence.
I have been in 4-H for over 10 years, and as I get older, I have started to become more involved with showing. I attend livestock shows throughout the whole year all over the nation to showcase my animals. Although most of the shows I attend are during the summer, like jackpots, showdowns, and national shows, some of the shows that I attend are during the school days, like state fairs and other national shows.
I miss school for these shows and I am put down under an unexcused absence. I am also limited to 10 days per semester that I am allowed to be gone under an unexcused absence. Those days add up quicker than you can imagine. While I may only miss two days for a show, the days accumulate fast near my maximum of days given off. Showing is a lot of peoples’ biggest passions, and I believe we are being held back as we aren’t allowed to attend another show or even be sick because we can’t miss another day of school.
Some states such as Oklahoma, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas have passed a law where any absence relating to a 4-H or FFA activity is excused. In most states they count as an unexcused absence, like they do here in Nebraska. All across the country people miss an abundance of school days, whether that be for appointments, sports, FFA, FCCLA, music, and so much more that count as excused absences. This is a bill that should be passed in all states to help students that may get penalized for missing too much school from activities like these.
As stated by Rep. Rick West of Oklahoma, “This is a terrific organization that serves students across the state. Because it is not considered a school activity, however, participants have to rely on the goodwill of their individual schools or school boards to determine if they will be counted with an excused or an unexcused absence when they attend leadership programs, livestock shows, judging contests or one of the many other activities offered. This bill ensures across-the-board protection for these students.”
Oklahoma is among the many states that allow this. I believe that Nebraska should join in with these states so that we are not being punished for days being gone.
Although these activities take time out of school, I know that people, like me, are still getting all assignments turned in on time and achieving high marks on them. While I am gone from school, I am learning many skills and life lessons that I can’t always learn in school. Whether those skills are from the work that I am doing to prepare my animals, the financial part, the nutritional side of things, or even the relationships built, I am always learning skills that I can’t learn just from being in school. I am consistently improving myself while I am away from school, so why can’t these absences be counted as excused as well?
I once heard the quote: “It’s not about the grades you make, it’s about the hands you shake.” As being involved in 4-H and FFA livestock events, I’ve shaken many different people’s hands, from backgrounds, ethnicities, financial status, and young and old to take with me forever. For these reasons, I think attending an FFA or 4-H livestock event should be an excused absence in Nebraska, because it is not that we aren’t learning and growing just like we would be if we were physically sitting in school.