The other day my niece came to stay with me until her mom could pick her up since her school let out for a half day in the middle of the week. For some stray reason she has no school today or tomorrow--boy do I ever wish I could've had this luxury of having no school Thursday or Friday! Anyways she and I got talking and the first thing she said to me was 'I had to go get blood work done as the clinic is closed by the time I get out of school and I hadn't eaten since supper at six Tuesday night.  By the time I got done with the blood work and ate breakfast at the Pancake House, I STILL felt woozy but I sucked it up and went to school only to be rudely reminded by the teacher that sleeping in class without a valid excuse was punishable by three hours in after school detention. I gave her the note mom wrote and she still said that having twelve vials of blood taken from my arm was no excuse to be falling asleep in class or to be excused from Gym Class! ' So I asked her 'Twelve vials of blood? Kinda much isn't it?' To which she said 'Six vials for two different blood tests and I'm being punished for
feeling tired when there are other kids in class that sleep all period
long and get away with it? It's just not fair! There are kids at the back of the room who walk in,sit down in the first available empty desk,drop their bags on the floor,put their heads down and bam they're out like a light for the entire period and they're getting 80's and 90's! But when I get blood drawn and I feel sleepy what do I hear 'Melissa! You of all people! Falling asleep in MY class! You should KNOW better then to do that! This is an important class and you NEED the credits to pass! Try going to bed a little earlier at night so you won't be so tired in the mornings!' Why should I be punished for having a legitimate excuse for being tired and dizzy while other kids stay up all night playing video games or watching the 90210 marathon and come to school too tired to focus in class?! How exactly is that fair?' I myself have been the victim of having 18 vials of blood taken for a blood work up and have had to return to school after a big breakfast only to have the effects of the 18 vials of blood come crashing over me and I know what it feels like to just want to curl up and go to sleep for a few hours. So can someone PLEASE tell me why the bloody heck having twelve vials of blood taken for a blood test is no excuse for falling asleep in class and why do kids who stay up all night playing online games,XBox 360 or watching GLEE marathons get away with sleeping through classes and exactly how in the heck can they get 80's and 90's when they never turn anything in or show up for tests or participate when it comes to group assignments? I say it's not fair to those who actually have a legitimate reason for being tired to be punished while the slackers get away with marks belonging to other hard working kids! How is this fair at all?