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If high school is supposed to be a college prepatory space, tardies should be viewed as they are in college
By: Squall Staff
Illustrator: Xavier Reyes
Take a minute to remember what school was like shortly after the pandemic-forced virtual school. From what The Squall remembers, school after the virtual year was much different than it is now. There were fewer policies and it was overall much more lenient. Suddenly, this year, after being late to class just three times students get a one-hour detention, which DHS has not seen before.
The Squall understands why this policy was put in place, but we believe that the policy-as a whole- is too strict and unreasonable for DHS students.
At most colleges, if you show up late, that’s your problem–not the school’s. It’s not the school’s fault that you missed half of the lecture– it’s yours. Not knowing part of the test because you were late to class would teach more of a lesson than a detention. In the place where college preparation is preached the most, students should be treated like they would be treated in a college. However, since DHS is doing things the way that they are, there should be at least some leniency.
Another reason the late policy is too unreasonable is because there are common outside factors that can make one late such as driving siblings to school or accidents like getting a flat tire. At the very least, first hour should be more lenient than it is right now due to morning commutes. Many teachers don’t consider the reason behind the student being late, and if they do, they don’t do anything about it because “late is late.”
A commonly argued point from administrators is that the tardy policy builds the positive habit of being early to things. This helps the teacher start classes on time, as well as helping the students get the most out of their class period. However, as mentioned earlier, getting a bad score on the test because you missed part of the lecture will teach you the lesson far more effectively than a punitive detention. With detention, you’re only wasting a student’s time and creating resentment rather than truly teaching students the principle of the policy.
Lastly, the late/tardy policy is too unreasonable because of the punishment that is put in place after three tardies. If you are late three times for class, you get detention, which colleges can see on your permanent record. These tardies could be the result of something like having to drive all three of your siblings to schools across the district before getting to the high school, or simply being stuck in traffic. Heck, a student could be injured in a car accident, even though it could have been the other driver’s fault, and still get marked tardy. Colleges might get the impression that a student doesn’t have a solid work ethic based off of the three times you were late.
The Squall staff understand and take into consideration why the tardy policy exists, but the policy is too unreasonable for DHS students to follow.
This is because at the place where college preparation is preached most, we are not treated as college students. We still have things like a tardy and phone policy, and aren’t being taught the most important lessons that we will need in college: accountability, responsibility, and initiative. On the other hand, students aren’t being treated like high schoolers in the sense that many students are new drivers, some with family obligations such as helping take care of younger siblings before school.
The administration doesn’t seem to be considering all of this with the current policy. In the end, the administration needs to make up its mind on whether they are going to to treat us as college students, or treat us like high school students.
