High school is the most crucial time for students. It’s the year when students have to really focus and work hard. Many decisions that students make can immediately affect their grades and their future opportunities. Missing just a couple assignments, cutting class, and the most crucial, not even coming to school at all are just some examples of how students can affect their grades.
Observation and data show that attendance is a problem at McKinley High School. There are students in my class who I see come to class late then walk out a few minutes before the bell rings and the teacher just marks them absent. Data given from Hawaii Department of Education Panorama database states that out of the 1,490 students in McKinley from August-October of 2022, only 56% attend 95% or more of the school days this year to date.
There are many downsides to students cutting or not coming to school. The impact of attendance isn’t as meaningful as students’ grades. If students don’t make it up, it will cause horrible grades which schools do care about.
I’m positive that every student has missed a class or school day once. But there’s a difference between students missing a class or not coming to school due to being sick or having an appointment and students cutting class or not coming to school.
There are many downsides to purposely not attending classes.
Of course, how would any student get away with not attending school? In article published by New York Times, reporter Samuel Weiss in 1988 said, “There’s a cumulative process whereby a student who’s allowed to get away with cutting some classes begins to think he can stay away for an afternoon, then a whole day, a week and then, before you know it, he’s out indefinitely.”
There are many downsides to purposely not attending classes.
Of course parents may be at fault sometimes if they don’t follow up with their child or if the phone number is not up to date, which would lead to parents not getting a message if their child is absent. This leads to the fact that it’s not the students’ fault completely for not attending school, but it is their choice. It can lead to students’ education and grades being at risk.
If students are willing to learn, they would still care about going to school even if nobody else cares so they can get a great education and expand their knowledge.
Another article written from TroubledTeens.com in 2021 said, “Students who miss more than 15 days out of one school year (two days per month) have poorer academic performance indicators than students who don’t miss 10 percent of the school year.” This would really affect high school students, especially those who are on their way to graduating.
Of course, some students have their reasons. I think some students may do these things due to the fact that they are maybe being bullied, don’t like a class, or simply they just don’t enjoy school. The same article from TroubledTeens.com said, “One of the leading causes of teens skipping school and class before and during the COVID-19 pandemic is bullying.” There were many other reasons such as not having friends or nobody wanting to have anything to do with you, teachers ignoring you, or not feeling like you’re smart enough.
No matter what, students should know they will always have someone to be there for them whether they know it or not. But don’t let it get in the way of your education. If you really care for your education, then there are many solutions. The main one could simply be just talking to a parent, teacher, counselor, or therapist who you feel comfortable talking to and you know they are willing to listen.
So when you think about walking out of that classroom door or deciding to not go to school, you should think again. Think about how your choices will affect you in the long run. Then if you still completely don’t care, I just want to say that you may regret it one day.
If you know someone who doesn’t attend classes, please realize how this can really impact their future. If you’re their friend, I also hope you convince them to stop and think thoroughly about their decisions before if affects them for the rest of their life.