Mom helps 17-year-old second-semester senior play hooky, maliciously complying with school's bogus absence policy: 'It was a solid 5 months of my mom messing with this woman'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 18, 2025 6:00 PM EST

Being a second-semester senior in high school can feel pretty pointless. After all, you have worked tirelessly for three-and-a-half years only to find yourself having to take more classes and assessments. On top of that, you probably have already figured out your future at this point, so you are truly "one step in and one step out." Maybe you're making your college plans or you have a job lined up. Regardless, it can feel useless to take more classes where the grades don't really lead to anything.

Now, you may be asking yourself: "what about the magic of learning?" If we want to fulfill our students in that way, we should reconsider our entire approach to that final semester. Perhaps we should allow all students to pursue independent studies so that they are still in school but they are also pursuing intellectual engagement and fulfillment in subject they are actually interested in… just a thought!

Keep scrolling below for this student's second-semester senior drama!

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10455240704
    via Unsplash+ (Giulia Squillace)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • This student already completed all of his school credits, and despite one more AP course, had a ton of free periods and “study halls.” Therefore, he decided to attend his real class but felt no need to go to study hall, as he had next to no work to complete. This led to the school administration having a vendetta against him for missing class, and so the saga began.

  • 02
    For reference this took place back in the late 90's. I'd imagine school systems work much different at the HS level now, and my kids aren't that old. yet.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 03
    Okay so it was my senior year of HS and I had had just enough credits in my Junior year to graduate. I had taken martial arts and taught it too so I got an extra gym credit early, I changed my mind because I wanted to graduate
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 04
    with my friends. So I just loaded up my schedule that year with whatever I wanted or I thought would look good to colleges. A few AP courses like US GOV, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology and some random stuff. The AP'S were a lot of work and, I had good test scores from last year already and I
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 05
    wasn't looking to get lower scores on classes I didn't care about so I dropped Physics/Gov and a random Jewelery 2 class. So I had 3 open periods a day surrounding lunch. It was magical, and i still had 1 AP class so I
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 06
    though I wasn't messing around too much. Both my parents worked so we didn't know anything was amiss. Till we realized we had a broken answering machine...again it was the 90's.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 07
    Apparently my school was calling 3x a day every day to tell us I wasn't showing up to some study hall class I had been assigned to after I dropped the few classes. This hadn't happened other years as It would just be a free period.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 08
    The funny part was the woman calling us was kind of a b I about it. After the first few days the messages started to get nasty...yet no one said word one to me in the school, or was anything sent home. This is also around the time my mom was starting her retirement from being a hair stylist,
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 09
    so she'd do like a week on and a week off, and now she was getting the calls. So she tells the woman, shes okay with it, his grades are good, technically he could have graduated already, college. aps are already out, so no biggie.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 10
    Oh that was apparently the wrong thing to say to this lady cause she read my mom the riot act. Going on about how irresponsible we all were and how she was personally going to tank my applications, how could I be so brazen,
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 11
    etc etc etc etc crazy level of over reaction. Plus she wouldn't stop calling for every single class despite my parents approval, repeated calls to the school, and eventually they showed up face to face.
    via StendhalSyndrome

  • Thankfully, the kid's mom understood the ridiculousness of this situation and was not going to put up with it or let her son's future be compromised in any way. Cue malicious compliance!

  • 12
    It was by law they had to report un- pre-approved truancy. So my mom sat down on it, they wouldn't accept their word over the phone or even face to face that I was allowed to leave (as I had previous years w/ 0 issues...) they
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 13
    wanted something in writing. I don't think any of it was legal or necessary because the lady was telling my parents they had to put all kinds of stuff like they knew they were being detrimental to my learning...were essentially bad parents etc etc etc...crazy stuff.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 14
    So my mom gets an idea. She says 100% they aren't writing anything like that, she looks it up and it is a law that if a student has an unexcused absence they have to notify the parents. So she started playing dumb making this lady call her up Every. Single. Period. I
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 15
    missed. Then she would hem and haw about hmm do I allow him to miss this period or is it a problem...hmmm. lemme think. Then she'd say make sure, it's okay...this one time, but to call me if he misses anything else
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 16
    because I'm not sure how I'd feel if he missed more...knowing full well I was missing 3 periods a day every day till I graduated.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 17
    They finally stopped calling like a month before I graduated. It was a solid 5 months of my mom messing with this woman named Sarah.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 18
    Edit: So I'm a lil shocked with some of the responses here with the overblown worry for the school. Some more info/stuff you obviously missed. A. I could have graduated Junior year. That means they would get $0 for my buns not being there at all and or hope there is a kid in district who couldn't get in still waiting, which btw doesn't work like that. B. Very well off district,
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 19
    easily top 10 in the state at the time. and sometimes top 5, very well off state, school had all the extras. C. We had 9 periods a day I had 3 off + lunch.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 20
    D. The biggest one my parents didn't have a problem with it, and I was sub 18. That means it was okay. Common sense should have had this woman look at the student in question see I am easily graduating and didn't have a history of causing rukus. AND THE LISTENED TO THE FREAKIN PARENTS LIKE THE LAW SAYS. 3 periods a day
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 21
    people. Senior year, could have graduated last (regents btw..like that means anything now) Parents approval...jeeze. SMDH.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 22
    foil_k As a parent of a kid who will be in a very similar position next year (a HS junior right now, heavy AP classes, but plans to make their senior year light), I find this absolutely hilarious. I'd probably do exactly the same as your mom.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 23
    Cheezburger Image 10455243008
    via Unsplash+ (Giulia Squillace)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Several members of the community chimed in with their reactions to this mother-and-son's dual malicious compliance!

  • 24
    erichwanh I was a late '90s HSer too. I cut 80% of HS. Got a GED, enrolled into college half a year before any of my peers. So, I'm literally in college, and come home from class to my grandma telling me "the truancy police came to the house".
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 25
    They finally showed up, 2 and a half years after I stopped going to HS classes, while I was literally in a college class.
    via StendhalSyndrome
  • 26
    The system is stupid. These were the same people that would suspend you for truancy. Yeah, you heard that right. Specialized HS, by the way. Good times.
    via StendhalSyndrome

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school students malicious compliance parenting high school mom Parenting Fail immature high schoolers
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