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Cancer is No Excuse

Rose McGrath was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and started a long, difficult fight against the disease. After lengthy treatment, she’s now recovering. “Even though she’s now done with her treatment you still have a very long recovery process because you’ve basically just put two and a half years of poison into your body,” says Rose’s mother Barbara McGrath. “You’re not recovering overnight.” Despite only attending St. Joseph Middle School in Battle Creek, Mich., for 32 days this year, 12-year-old Rose is on track to pass her core classes. The school, however, sent a letter dismissing her due to attendance and academic performance issues, despite accommodations for her medical problems. “These were extraordinary circumstances,” said a Fr. John Fleckenstein of Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools, “but so many accommodations were made we felt eventually it became a point where we really had to help Rose, by being able to make sure that she was getting the assistance that she needed and to learn.” After a massive public uproar over the dismissal, the school invited Rose back, but Barbara is putting her in public school instead. (MS/WWMT Kalamazoo) ...Maybe an English teacher can assist school officials with the meaning of the word “help.”
Original Publication Date: 10 May 2015
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 21.

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I believe humanity is held back by the lack of thinking. I provoke thought with examples of what happens when we don’t think, and when we do. This is True is my primary method: stories like this come out every week by email, and basic subscriptions are free. Click here for a subscribe form.

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