Truancy is a problem.

“We should have in school suspension,” teacher Christopher Martin said.

Martin also said motivation plays a big part in whether students ditch or not.

I have many friends and classmates that ditch certain classes simply because they hate the class and this problem has gone on for all four years of my high school experience.

“I feel that students need to be more responsible for their education. They know the difference between right and wrong, and they shouldn’t be ditching school,” teacher Shelby Costa said.

I strongly agree with Costa because going to school is the students’ decision, rather than their parents’ decision. The school itself can only do so much; students must find the incentive to go to class on their own. What many incoming high school students do not know about education is the importance it will have in their future. Attending school is one of the key principles in achieving the best grades possible. Costa also elaborated on how the school should give “a particular punishment” for those who ditch. “Harsher consequences need to be made,” said Costa. There are many ways students could be punished for their absence in classes, and the more they ditch, the more severe the punishment will be.

“I always see people walk out like [it’s] nothing,” senior Kairis Yam said.

Yam also mentioned how ditching happens every day and how badly it affects both the student and the school. On how to prevent ditching, she said that “there’s always gonna be someone that ditches” but later elaborated on how harsher punishments such as Saturday school or detention would make students think twice on ditching.

As a senior in McKinley High School, I know of the many reasons why students ditch. Whether it is lack of motivation or pure hatred towards a class, it is still important for students to build up that last bit of energy and determination to attend class.