What is a good excuse to ask for some time off? At your school, sickness may be the only one. But in British schools, family events are also well-accepted ones. The National Association of Head Teachers in the UK has written new guidelines about students asking for leave. They will allow parents to take their children out of school for family weddings or funerals(葬礼) or visiting an ill relative.
This is a change from the 2013 guidelines that stopped parents taking children out of school without permission. Otherwise, they could have got a fine of 60 pounds (about 600 yuan) or faced court. Family events were not proper excuses to get permission.
Many parents complained about this rule.
"Taking family events is very important for children's growth and that is a lesson the schools cannot ever teach our children. " John Hemming, chairman of Parents Want a Say Organization, told The Independent.
The new change supports this idea and gives permission to students taking time off for family events. It's now OK for British students to take time off for family events.
In China, however, many students rarely have time off for family events.
"That's part of the reason for the generation gap(代沟)between parents and children, "Guo Hongxia, a researcher at National Institute of Education Sciences, wrote in China Education Daily.
