To be a bit sad my kids will never 'bunk' off school (school email alert!)

[stellenbosch]

So, obviously it's a very good thing. But it's also a bit sad for this generation that they seem to have no freedom.
Dd was late for the bus this morning, which I knew about. But I was very surprised to get an email from the school saying she'd been late. Also, once when she was ill and I'd sent an email, but it hadn't left my outbox, they emailed me to ask why she wasn't in.

This is great. Obviously. But... the 90s were great too, when you could skip school, or just not answer your home phone, and not be tracked down or completed at slave to technology!

Sigh@nostalgia, I must be getting old! 🤣

Where I come from 21st of March was officially "bunk off day". We would put funny clothes on, and do something fun.

My DS14 is allowed an odd day off, or cheeky note that his PE tshirt ended up accidentally in the wash this morning, while he just can't find it.

I never bunked off school but don't feel sad about it. Still had lots of fun as a teenager.

YABU to think it's an essential part of being a teenager

Or when your friend lived round the corner from school So you all snuck round, drew the curtains and played records and cards all afternoon instead of library study time. Actually, in all fairness I made up my library time by sneaking off to the library instead of going to pe ......

We used the same tactic as Lovemusic33

@NonnoMum Ahh I have fond memories of school discos - picking out the best outfit, panda pops and tuck shop sweets

I skipped off one particular lesson for a whole year as well. Apart from going in once that is. Surprisingly the teacher was really nice to me. When one of the other students pointed out that I was never in the lesson, she just said, oh well, poor Noqont, she must be ill. All the time
And just gave me a pointed look. I never got in trouble for that episode of bunking off anyway. And my parents definitely didn't know about it. I had great fun. Would catch the train into London for the day and visit the sites. Would go round friends houses who were also bunking off and get drunk. I didn't get good exam results though and had to do evening classes to get back up to speed when I left school. I guess it's sad that youngsters don't get away with this stuff from their point of view, but in terms of safeguarding I'm glad the schools ring me if the children aren't there.

my nemesis was double German on a Friday morning. ugh.

it was bunked by either ‘missing’ the school bus which meant innocently arriving by public transport at break, or legging it after registration to the Prom, to hide in a draughty shelter smoking fags*. happy days.

occasional all-day bunking was excused by always having a sick note from my stepdad. he didn’t do a lot of school admin so his handwriting didn’t look obviously forged. his signature was traced from a credit card.

i don’t think my DD has ever bunked off. maybe bunking off won’t ever truly be seen in the wild again, disappearing into history along with love bites, and staying put all night by telling your parents that ‘everyone’s staying at Kerry’s house it’s FINE’ and them having no way of proving otherwise.

*sold to us by the man in the corner shop, who would also tick us B&H on a friday, to be paid off with dinner money on a Monday. simpler times, the later 80s...

Yeah I do think it's a bit of a shame for the occasional bunking.

Obviously if it was every week it's more an issue but once a month missing a Friday does not necessarily make you a delinquent, being abused or any other negative thing other than lazy or disinterested.

I do think with internet and online grooming that a worry could be meeting strangers. But doubt that issue is as much with sixth formers.

No school discos now???

My school was in the arse end of nowhere so we had a school provided coach to get there. If you didn't have a parent at home to drive you in it was easy to bunk off by simply missing the coach, as long as you didn't do it too often there was nothing the school could do. My beat friend and I would buy a load of biscuits and crisps and spend the day eating crap and watching horror films her dad had videoed off the telly.

i don't think its anything to do with online 'grooming'.

its just about control.

control. control. control.

exams. exams. exams.

sucking the joy out of everything basically.

zonelight - I couldn't agree more. I hate the current system. So much control is going to make them ill...

I used to bunk off round my boyfriend's house while his parents were at work

Though I did have a crisis of conscience when DD was a baby, and I used to feed her by the sitting room window, and realised the fourteen year old girl opposite smuggled in her boyfriend several lunchtimes a week while her parents were at work. To tell her parents or not? I decided not to.

@talith my school used to write a letter home, as my parents were full time workers (latch key kid me!) the letters were always intercepted!! loved a bunk off day, over the park with my mates

I bunked off supposedly compulsory PE for the entire 6th form. No one said anything and deep down I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for a fight over it (which I suspect they'd probably worked out...)

Unfortunately I used this time by going to Greggs for a pasty then sitting in the library doing my homework like the nerd I am was.