Washing Machines vs School Attendance (1 Viewer)

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Schools Add Washing Machines, See Attendance Improve - CityLab

In talking to parents, Gunn discovered that many didn’t have easy access to washing machines. Or if they did have machines, they couldn't always use them because they couldn’t afford detergent, or their electricity had been shut off. For these families, laundry had to take a backseat to more pressing needs such as food and rent.

It turned out that when students didn’t have clean clothes, they often stayed home from school out of embarrassment. Logan, an eighth-grader, spoke about how difficult it is for others to understand his problem: “I think people don’t talk about not having clean clothes because it makes you want to cry or go home or run away or something. It doesn’t feel good.”

This is a powerful statement about our society. Make of it what you will, but it makes me very sad to know that children aren't getting education because of income problems.
 
If they only had some bootstraps, their parents could buy themselves some washers and dryers.

Seriously, though, thanks for posting that.
 
Back when my daughter was in high school, she was bringing a few pieces of clothing (usually PE uniforms) home to wash. One of her classmates wouldn't dress out some times because her uniform was sweaty and family just wasn't able/couldn't afford to wash clothes enough.

Heart breaking.
 
One school saw that adding laundry cut missed attendance by almost half.

The first year saw over 90 percent of tracked students increase their attendance, with those most in need of the service averaging an increase of almost 2 weeks. Teachers surveyed reported that 95 percent of participants showed more motivation in class and were more apt to participate in extra-curricular activities. The results support research demonstrating that chronic absenteeism isn’t because of kids’ lack of smarts or motivation, but is largely due to coming from a low-income household.

It seems as if you treat students as valued members of society, they gain hope and become engaged in their future.
 
It's a good idea, but people seem to forget that washing clothes by hand is still a way of life for much (most?) of the world and a viable option that people seem to completely ignore.
 
It's a good idea, but people seem to forget that washing clothes by hand is still a way of life for much (most?) of the world and a viable option that people seem to completely ignore.

I'm not sure what exactly bothers me about this comment, but I find it quite ridiculous.
 
It's a good idea, but people seem to forget that washing clothes by hand is still a way of life for much (most?) of the world and a viable option that people seem to completely ignore.

Yes, maybe we should just eliminate school and have the kids stay home and wash clothes with all that saved time. Then we can roll back all the progress in the US to this point and let everyone enjoy these viable options of which you speak. They obviously were the better options and should never have been changed. The savings on books, uniforms, electricity, lunches, and more would be incredible. I bet we could give another tax cut to the .01% then.

:jpshakehead:
 
It's a good idea, but people seem to forget that washing clothes by hand is still a way of life for much (most?) of the world and a viable option that people seem to completely ignore.

trying to address this open-mindedly
i would imagine there are significant obstacles to this:
space: where do you dry these clothes? gone are the days when clotheslines stretched from tenement bldg to tenement bldg
time: these are typically families where the breadwinner is working multiple jobs
knowhow: most americans are probably 4 generations removed from this practice
availability: where does one get lye nowadays
 
Typically, education budgets are pretty robust. Providing this service across the country should be an attainable goal.....especially if the results (more butts in the seats) are repeated.
 
Shouldn't the threat title be "Washing Machines vs. School Absenteeism" or truancy?

I keep reading it thinking that the kids are staying home to wash their clothes.
 
Shouldn't the threat title be "Washing Machines vs. School Absenteeism" or truancy?

I keep reading it thinking that the kids are staying home to wash their clothes.

i think you can read it tow ways
(lack of) washing machines (at home) vs school absenteeism
OR
washing machines (at school) vs truancy

in defense of OP he was probably hand-washing his bloomers and was too tired to concentrate on word choice
 

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