Perfect attendance awards in school are a very tricky beast. There were definitely years in school where I never missed a day, and I was encouraged by my family and teachers to be proud of that. However, I didn’t have perfect attendance in 2nd grade because I was particularly special or gifted. I only had perfect attendance because I was lucky. I didn’t get sick, and no external factors kept me from school for those days. I accomplished nothing substantial, and yet I got praised for it.

Concepts like «perfect attendance» don’t just stop in elementary school. They roll over into adulthood, and bosses and employers often expect near-perfect employee attendance year-round. Sick days and PTO are given begrudgingly, and when employees try to take «too much» time off, they can get punished for it. This was the case for a nurse whose boss made her come in sick despite her having a horrid case of food poisoning.