Non-compulsory Attendance

Nancy Ponder 

Undoubtedly education is extremely important in American culture. And with each passing generation the importance of the institution is emphasized. Although an education is very important, it is not always valued as it should be by those receiving the education. This could be for a number of reasons, but the one that stands out the most is the fact that until a certain age an education is forced upon people. So more often than not people do not, appreciate an education, because they are not given the chance to. Instead they are forced into it and are told that this is what they should want, without deciding that it truly is what they want.

In this country a student must stay in school until the age of eighteen. Because of this it is obvious that for the most school is not considered to be a privilege, but a burden. There is almost resentment that students have to come to a place every day that they would rather not be in. students are not given a choice in the matter and for this reason many just try to get by and do what is needed until they can leave. And because of this they miss out on so many things that they could learn from school.

Stress is also another factor to be considered when it comes to compulsory attendance. With classes come homework and half the time it seems like there is so much work that it is overwhelming. There isn’t a single student who can say that they have not felt stressed at one time or another about schoolwork. “An extra day off would be beneficial forces us to manage our time better, so on the day we have homework, we can actually do homework,” said Junior Phuong Pham. Students are constantly worrying about how they will manage their time to fit in all of the assignments and still have enough time to do all of the other activities that are and are not school related. Students are expected to handle all of the stress of tests and extra-curricular activites, but the one lesson that school is not teaching is how to deal with all of those responsibilities. In a sense it’s sink or swim and that should change. School is not the primary source of stress for high school students, but the heavy load certainly doesn’t make it any easier to handle.

By the time students get to high school they are constantly told that they are practically adults and that they are prepared for the real world. So if we are expected to behave like adults, then why are we still treated like children who have no say in what they do or how they manage their time.

Forced attendance can also change students’ passionate attitude toward learning lackadaisical. After a while students tire of having the same routine over and over without change. “I think change is good, but with school you need a routine. But also it would be good if we had alternate days. It would give more time for homework. And it gives you a variety within the week.” said Angela Mayorga

Of course there is the concern that if students are not forced to come to school every day and they are given more of a choice, then it can only harm students. “If you gave students the choice not to come as often, then they would never come to school,” said Junior Stephen Gardner. He goes on to say, “I think grades would drop faster”. And while this is a feasible point, the fact still remains that students can decide to ignore their obligation to come to school, regardless of how many days they are forced to attend.