Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, February 7, 2020
Lifestyle
Page 13
Un-paid family leave is unfair
If you really knew me, you would know...
Parents are forced to use their sick days
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ics and journalism teacher at GBHS, has around 215 available sick days saved up. This disparity makes the trek back to campus even more difficult than it already is, which should not be understated in the first place. Leaving a child behind just a few weeks after they were born is incredibly hard on both mothers and fathers alike, however, those who go on maternity leave are not alone in the process. “I’d say the whole process is definitely bittersweet,” May said. It’s not fun to leave your child, but it’s also really great to work for a district that was so helpful and so responsive, and really helped me plan everything out.”
Gazette illustration/KATE FERNANDEZ
work,” May said. This isn’t an unusual occurrence, however. kfernandez.gazette@gmail.com Lisa Kunst and Kathleen Angelone, both of whom are currently teachers at GBHS, also went through the same process when hile the technical term for paid they took their leaves of absence for their leave in California is Paid Family children. Leave (PFL), however for the most “Right now I probably only have about 15 part it is the mothers who go on maternity or so,” Angelone said. leave. So if your kid gets sick or you get sick, Many female teachers at Granite Bay High then you get docked pay when you miss a School have gone on maternity day of school.” leave at some point, the most Kunst went recent being Stephanie May, through the same who was gone for the entirety measure, and after of the first semester of 2019. having three kids, she “Getting back in the groove I don’t believe I have any estimates that she has of teaching kind of took a little sick days at this point ... about ten sick days bit of time, but I think everyleft in total. day is getting a little bit easier –Stephanie May, GBHS English “Once I use all of and a little bit more comfort- teacher my sick leave and able,” May said. whatever time is In order to take this leave of remaining in the six absence, however, May had to to which weeks that I use all of her accumulated sick days, and is am given, I have to pay a differential, which now down to zero. means I basically have to pay the sub out of “I don’t believe I have any sick days at this my pay, which I think is just horrible,” said point... I chose to take longer so that I could Kunst, when describing the process of taking be with my daughter until she was of an maternity leave. age that I felt comfortable coming back to For context, Karl Grubaugh, an econom-
BY KATE FERNANDEZ
Mandatory course causes conflict within student body Personal finance course faces new controversial changes
sofia birch “If you really knew me, you’d know that my sister has a pet bunny.”
cannon delavoye “If you really knew me, you’d know that I love national parks.”
BY CORI CAPLINGER
“There’s a lot of typos so it just screams to me that you (the district) don’t really care about my personal finance,” Larson said. The PFC was not always a requirement for graduation. At one point seniors had no course requirements. According to McGregor the n what was supposed to be a fun, final semester for Granite Bay course has been “required for at least five years.” High School’s senior class has now become a rush to meet graduaRecently, however, a big change has been made. The RJUHSD antion requirements. nounced that instead of allowing seniors to take the final exam online, The Personal Finance Course (or the PFC) is required by the Rosas in previous years, they were going to require students to take the eville Joint Union High School District for every senior who intends test on-site. to graduate. It consists of four modules, with multiple lessons within “The biggest change is the “on-site” final exam. This was in an effort each module. to ensure that all students complete their own work,” McGregor said. “The (PFC) is a standalone graduation requirement for all students Past seniors had the ability to cheat on the course by having others in the district, with the purpose of providing the opportunity for students to expand their knowledge before leaving high school,” Assistant complete their work for them, or collude on the final test. A GBHS alumni who requested to remain anonymous reasoned that many of Principal Jessup McGregor said. their classmates cheated just to get the PFC over with. The PFC is for students to get a handle on the skill “It was annoying and something that was hard to take and understanding managing finances requires, in serious because I kept it as something to do later, rather a shortened form. than making it a priority,” the anonymous graduate “Students, parents, and employers report said. “It was common to pay someone to do it for that the education system needs to ensure you.” a basic level of financial proficiency for all Former students held the same concerns as students,” McGregor said. “This course is current seniors regarding the quality of the PFC. one way in which our district addresses And as a result of this, many students tried this need.” to find ways out of the course. Instances of Yet, for people like senior Erin Larson, cheating became so common that as an effort to the PFC is not enough. combat it, the district decided to enforce on-site “I know they basically put no effort testing. into making it (the PFC) actually imporRJUHSD didn’t stop there. In an email sent out tant to us because they’re like ‘sit down on November 15, 2019, the district announced for six hours and take this course and watch that they were moving up the course completion these videos (...) and then on the quiz take tests date to January 31, 2020 and also were requiring that actually have nothing to do with what you students to have taken their on-site exam by the end of learned on the videos’,” Larson said. Gazette illustration/DYLAN ROWE February. Many others believe the course is just “The course itself has potential to take time away from as frustrating. As a required course, students feel as though the PFC senior’s lives such as visiting college(s) of extracurricular activities, should be held to a higher standard. but I feel like it mainly conflicts with the mandatory volunteer hours “I don’t really agree with the mandate of the Personal Finance seniors also need to graduate,” McCall said. Course, as I felt it was a waste of time,” senior Isael McCall said. “The GBHS seniors want the district to take action to either improve the course itself was clumsy to navigate and had lots of spelling errors, online course, or to make it into a real class. grammatical mistakes and in some cases information on topics not on “(I) Really feel like this should be a required (class) that people the test or quizzes.” go through because it’s something that can be applied to everyone,” These careless errors make seniors feel like the PFC is a waste of Larson said. “Everyone needs this in their life.” time. ccaplinger.gazette@gmail.com
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gianna negri “If you really knew me, you’d know that I love dogs.”
alejandro alverez “If you really knew me, you’d know that I don’t like to be serious.” Compiled by: Heba Bonar
