Has your relationship to school changed since the pandemic began?
Take a look at the graph above. It shows rates of chronic absence in the United States since 2016. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What story does it tell about the state of education today? What headline would you write to capture the graph’s main idea?
Does the information in the graph surprise you? Or is the problem of absenteeism something you have observed in your own school and classrooms?
In “Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere,” Sarah Mervosh and Francesca Paris write about how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed families’ lives and the culture of education itself, making attendance feel optional for many:
In Anchorage, affluent families set off on ski trips and other lengthy vacations, with the assumption that their children can keep up with schoolwork online.
In a working-class pocket of Michigan, school administrators have tried almost everything, including pajama day, to boost student attendance.
And across the country, students with heightened anxiety are opting to stay home rather than face the classroom.
In the four years since the pandemic closed schools, U.S. education has struggled to recover on a number of fronts, from learning loss, to enrollment, to student behavior.
But perhaps no issue has been as stubborn and pervasive as a sharp increase in student absenteeism, a problem that cuts across demographics and has continued long after schools reopened.
Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason.
The article continues:
The trends suggest that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture of school, in ways that may be long lasting. What was once a deeply ingrained habit — wake up, catch the bus, report to class — is now something far more tenuous.
“Our relationship with school became optional,” said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University.
The habit of daily attendance — and many families’ trust — was severed when schools shuttered in spring 2020. Even after schools reopened, things hardly snapped back to normal. Districts offered remote options, required Covid-19 quarantines and relaxed policies around attendance and grading.
Ms. Mervosh and Ms. Paris look at why students are missing school, describing how the “new calculus among families is complex and multifaceted”:
Across the country, students are staying home when sick, not only with Covid-19, but also with more routine colds and viruses.
And more students are struggling with their mental health, one reason for increased absenteeism in Mason, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Cincinnati, said Tracey Carson, a district spokeswoman. Because many parents can work remotely, their children can also stay home.
For Ashley Cooper, 31, of San Marcos, Texas, the pandemic fractured her trust in an education system that she said left her daughter to learn online, with little support, and then expected her to perform on grade level upon her return. Her daughter, who fell behind in math, has struggled with anxiety ever since, she said.
“There have been days where she’s been absolutely in tears — ‘Can’t do it. Mom, I don’t want to go,’” said Ms. Cooper, who has worked with the nonprofit Communities in Schools to improve her children’s school attendance. But she added, “as a mom, I feel like it’s OK to have a mental health day, to say, ‘I hear you and I listen. You are important.’”
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
Has your relationship to school changed since the pandemic began? Have you noticed any differences in your own attendance?
The article says that “the trends suggest that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture of school, in ways that may be long lasting.” Does that resonate with your own experiences? Do you agree with Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor at Duke University, who said that “our relationship with school became optional”?
What is your reaction to the article and the accompanying graphs? Were you surprised to learn that about 26 percent of students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic? Is the problem of absenteeism something you have observed in your own school and classrooms?
The article notes that student absenteeism is “a leading factor hindering the nation’s recovery from pandemic learning losses” and that “a rotating cast of absent classmates can negatively affect the achievement of even students who do show up.” How has the rise in absenteeism affected you?
Ms. Mervosh and Ms. Paris describe how schools are scrambling to improve attendance. The Ypsilanti school district in Michigan, they say in the article, has tried a bit of everything, including home visits, themed dress-up days and, after noticing a dip in attendance during winter months, warm clothing giveaways. What do you think of these strategies? What else do you think schools should do to address the problem?
How concerned should we be about the issue of chronic absenteeism? Is it the “new normal,” or just a minor, temporary problem? What do you think adults — parents, teachers, reporters and politicians — should know about young people and their relationship to school as we move forward?
As a student that has primarily attended title 1 schools, I have noticed that there is a large difference in attendance at title 1 schools and non-title 1 schools. In title 1 schools, we don't have to complete any work to pass all of our classes. All we have to do as students (usually) is show up and we will have all A's and B's. Because of this, many students will attend class, at least until attendance is taken, and then they will leave for a while. In other schools, if we don't show up, we don't pass our classes. The people skipping either take the hall passes and leave with them, or they don't show up at all. These are mainly students that don't necessarily care about their grades. Also, students enrolled in higher level (typically honors/ap) classes generally have higher attendance rates than that of the students that are not enrolled in those classes. This is true of both title 1 schools and non-title 1 schools. As a current high school student, I can attest to the prevalent issue that is the drastic drop in student attendance rates. One reason that I have witnessed is that the education system and our teachers and district have not placed enough requirements on students. Students have no incentive to go to school if they are capable of skipping and still passing with not just Cs but with As. Students at this age are very grade and point motivated as am I, if our administrators were able to place more points on consistent attendance I assume that the rate of attendance would increase. It's all about the motivation. As a public high school student I've seen the shift in attendance firsthand, at first I thought that everyone was skipping because we had more freedom now that we were able to drive ourselves home. Although after reading the article, I've realized that chronic absenteeism is actually on the rise. I dont think that its due to one singular reason but one that I've noticed is that school has less importance now than pre-pandemic, we didn't come into school for over a year and we still passed, so what harm would missing one single day cause? This optional attitude towards school is briefly addressed in the article, although it mostly focused on the attitudes of parents. I would like to know what percentage of each age group is chronically absent, so we could see if student independence has any effect on absenteeism.
As a member of the youth and a current high school student, I have had an increase in absences since the COVID-19 pandemic, and my relationship with the high school has changed. Despite that, this relationship isn't optional/required but rather a way to pass the time and involve myself with the community. This may seem strange as my absences increased, yet the reason has changed. It is no longer due to the lack of "wanting" to get to school but rather a waste of my time. There are many instances where I go to my classes and there may not even be busy work and I end up spending over 6 hours of my time being babysat instead of doing more productive objectives such as submitting scholarship applications, applying to part-time jobs, or helping around the house. For the most part, the pandemic has affected most people in various ways that I can not speak for, but when it comes to absences it is no longer "faking sick" or just not feeling like showing up, it is much deeper, much more personal. As a high school student, I can see the appeal to skipping school. Waking up in the morning is extremely tired, and I often feel exhausted after staying up to do all of the homework that my classes give me. Some classrooms use a 4 point scale that make it so missing any points on an assignment catastrophic to overall grades. I have friends that skip school, and the excuses that they use are usually that they don't feel well, or are to tired to go to school. I have a particular friend who recently said that she is scared to show up to class because she has missed so much class over the semester. Getting rid of the 4 point scale that some schools are using, and not bombarding students with homework would help students be more likely to go to school. My school does not start too late, but I know some schools that start really early, so allowing school to start later in the day would allow students to get more sleep and be more likely to show up in the first place. Yes, to simply put it yes. Not only has Attendance changed, but many things about school itself. As a student in the Salem Keizer school district, I personally see a difference in schools. Students who go to school without the morals or expectations of previous generations. Our district's "Chronic Absences" sits just under 50% (48%). Not only is this number out of control, the schools seem not to care about changing anything in the current situation. Ironically, the graduation rate in my district and school had increased in the past years since Covid-19. Like a plane's contrail in the sky, the district has left its mark. Simply put, the district is allowing students to pass classes without the right knowledge or skills to be fluent in a subject. The growing trend seems to be accepting this as it's fate. Schools making tests and assignments easier to fit the students wants leaving room for students to skip classes and cause trouble.
I attribute the rise in absenteeism in schools not only to the rise in anxiety and reluctance from students since the pandemic, but also to the progressively standardized curriculums we have had to deal with since elementary school. I feel, as a student, an increasing reluctance to attend school the more I go. Each year, each month, I find myself less and less excited to learn because learning has become something stress-inducing and confusing and competetive and depressing. We are not taught to care about the pursuit of knowledge but about maintaining our GPA and our test scores. We are taught to follow set rubrics and instructions, never really being permitted to, and at times being punished for experimenting with our own creativity and ideas. These conditions are mentally stifling for so many students and I think that is something that is too often overlooked. We cannot expect students to want to come to school if we foster an environment where they constantly feel misunderstood and overwhelmed.
As a current high school Junior my experiences with skipping have been minimal at best, however, I feel strongly that the reason behind skipping is pretty simple. Students don't care as much about school and the system encourages it. When faced with the choice of sitting in a class and learning about the Patagonian theorem or hanging out with friends many students are now choosing the ladder. The lack of care or effort being put forth in school doesn't even affect their grades! This is due to certain classes having minimal grades set at 50%, which is 10% away from a pass. This system is actively encouraging people to put minimal effort into a class just to get a pass and graduate. Removing courses like this would certainly raise the importance of getting the work done. Another solution to this problem would be having attendance as a grade, if your grade depends on you being in classes then most would show up. If you have to show up to class to pass then more students would be inclined to do so. The emphasis is on not bending the knee to people who don't want to show up to class, not giving them a minimal 50%, we should mark attendance for a passing grade, and letting them fail. If we keep letting student skip with minimal consequences then their attitudes won't change and thus hindering our students growth.
As a student from a school district with a 50% chronic absenteeism rate, my relationship with attendance has become very frustrating. I am a very academically motivated student who attends school, works hard, communicates with my teachers, and gets good grades. When my peers don't show up to class and then come back lost and confused causing me to waste time in class it makes me very upset and it makes me want to skip class since I know that we're not doing anything. The problem of chronic absenteeism needs to be solved in order to help ALL students.
With the rising of new ways for students to distract themselves, the motivation to go to school and have the average highschool career, there isn't a reason kids see to show up to school. As a student in high school, there are many classes where I wouldn't even need to show up to do my online assignments. This gives students no real motivation to show up, as why should I when I can do these assignments at home? Canvas, stay home. Lectures, slides are online, stay home. Test? Take it online, cheat for all they care. Stay home. There are a lot of times where kids are virtually online learning. Furthermore, the arising of new distractions during this generation has devalued the idea of work and has devalued going to school, and promoted skipping school to do other things.
As a high school student with well more than a few abscesses, chronic absenteeism is not just the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is something far more simple. Sitting in my AP Lang class right now, about half of the people are gone. Sitting in any one of my classes really, the class is never full. Just the other day in my chemistry class, I saw someone new walk in through the door. Someone I have never seen before, even though we are about a month into the second semester. I came to learn that they have been in that class not only since the beginning of second semester, but the beginning of first semester as well! Over the course of 7 months, the student showed up once. I struck up a conversation with that student and came to learn they had passed first semester with a 93% A. How? Well, here is the simple truth. You don't have to go to class when everything is online. In all of my classes, we use Canvas. The teachers will put their daily lessons and every assignment online. It isn't necessary to come to school anymore when you can do everything online in the comfort of your home. So, I don't need to come to school anymore. I'd rather stay home and do it online.
For me personally, I have noticed a shift in my attendance. I skipped around one class a week as a senior, however, last year I would never skip. Before Covid, I was in middle school where I had less independence so it was a lot more challenging to skip. So while I have skipped more since the pandemic I do not believe the pandemic caused me to inresult skip more. Overall as a class, I believe my peers skip a lot more frequently than the high schoolers before covid.
As a student in high school, I've come to realize the horrible state our attendance has been in since the pandemic. The reason can be simplified into one idea: laziness. We are lazy, willing to do only enough to get by, no more, no less. If a student doesn't need to come to a class to obtain the grade they wish to achieve, then they won't show up. Classes are not challenging enough to make students feel that they are worth going to. My mom is used to getting texts from me during the school day, begging to be excused from a class where "we're doing nothing" or, "I already finished the work", which is true, yet I abuse the opportunity to miss class because I know there will be no greater coincidence, I will still be getting an A. Due to my laziness, I would rather be at home taking a nap than sitting in a class with no greater impact on my life.
During the pandemic, going to school wasn’t a problem. You didn’t have to wake up and instantly dread that you have not finished any paper assignments, you didn’t have to worry about being late to class, and most important of all, you didn’t have to wake up early. But all good things must end. Soon after, the pandemic was over, and we were allowed to return to school. Due to being used to the old schedule, multiple people, both teachers and students were late, and sadly, I was one of those students that were forced to go back to school. Even though I wanted to do online learning, my parents forced me to go though the tough process of going back to school, and now here I am, never getting absences unless I have permission to.
As a student who attends a public high school, and works in attendance, I have seen a scary amount of people who don't attend class specifically by skipping, and from what I've seen a lot of it comes from problems with discipline, and during my conversations with the security guards (Shout out to Josh and Rodney) they've told me many excuses they've heard from students ranging from "I don't like my teacher", to "I don't like the subject" to "I just don't wanna go" but it's always the same people who skip class and those people have had problems with discipline in the past and to me I believe discipline is the main issue with attendance.
As a high schooler myself I understand the absolute dread of going to school each morning. I don't view school as optional, I don't discredit education and I do have good attendance but I see why others don't. School is draining, its exahsting, its stressful and sometimes it feels like a boring waste of time. I find that teachers hardly explain lessons and assignments, then expect us to pass tests, and turn in homework on time. This is not to hate on teachers, my mom is a teacher and I see how hard she works, I am simply saying that our education system is failing. For example, last year I had physics, and I got an A both semesters but I learned NOTHING, after 9 months of going to my physics class I cannot honestly say what physics is. This shows that grades dont show how much a student has learned, they simply raise anxiety levels and make me dread going to school.
Does the information in the graph surprise you? Or is the problem of absenteeism something you have observed in your own school and classrooms?
In “Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere,” Sarah Mervosh and Francesca Paris write about how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed families’ lives and the culture of education itself, making attendance feel optional for many:
In Anchorage, affluent families set off on ski trips and other lengthy vacations, with the assumption that their children can keep up with schoolwork online.
In a working-class pocket of Michigan, school administrators have tried almost everything, including pajama day, to boost student attendance.
And across the country, students with heightened anxiety are opting to stay home rather than face the classroom.
In the four years since the pandemic closed schools, U.S. education has struggled to recover on a number of fronts, from learning loss, to enrollment, to student behavior.
But perhaps no issue has been as stubborn and pervasive as a sharp increase in student absenteeism, a problem that cuts across demographics and has continued long after schools reopened.
Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason.
The article continues:
The trends suggest that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture of school, in ways that may be long lasting. What was once a deeply ingrained habit — wake up, catch the bus, report to class — is now something far more tenuous.
“Our relationship with school became optional,” said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University.
The habit of daily attendance — and many families’ trust — was severed when schools shuttered in spring 2020. Even after schools reopened, things hardly snapped back to normal. Districts offered remote options, required Covid-19 quarantines and relaxed policies around attendance and grading.
Ms. Mervosh and Ms. Paris look at why students are missing school, describing how the “new calculus among families is complex and multifaceted”:
Across the country, students are staying home when sick, not only with Covid-19, but also with more routine colds and viruses.
And more students are struggling with their mental health, one reason for increased absenteeism in Mason, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Cincinnati, said Tracey Carson, a district spokeswoman. Because many parents can work remotely, their children can also stay home.
For Ashley Cooper, 31, of San Marcos, Texas, the pandemic fractured her trust in an education system that she said left her daughter to learn online, with little support, and then expected her to perform on grade level upon her return. Her daughter, who fell behind in math, has struggled with anxiety ever since, she said.
“There have been days where she’s been absolutely in tears — ‘Can’t do it. Mom, I don’t want to go,’” said Ms. Cooper, who has worked with the nonprofit Communities in Schools to improve her children’s school attendance. But she added, “as a mom, I feel like it’s OK to have a mental health day, to say, ‘I hear you and I listen. You are important.’”
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
Has your relationship to school changed since the pandemic began? Have you noticed any differences in your own attendance?
The article says that “the trends suggest that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture of school, in ways that may be long lasting.” Does that resonate with your own experiences? Do you agree with Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor at Duke University, who said that “our relationship with school became optional”?
What is your reaction to the article and the accompanying graphs? Were you surprised to learn that about 26 percent of students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic? Is the problem of absenteeism something you have observed in your own school and classrooms?
The article notes that student absenteeism is “a leading factor hindering the nation’s recovery from pandemic learning losses” and that “a rotating cast of absent classmates can negatively affect the achievement of even students who do show up.” How has the rise in absenteeism affected you?
Ms. Mervosh and Ms. Paris describe how schools are scrambling to improve attendance. The Ypsilanti school district in Michigan, they say in the article, has tried a bit of everything, including home visits, themed dress-up days and, after noticing a dip in attendance during winter months, warm clothing giveaways. What do you think of these strategies? What else do you think schools should do to address the problem?
How concerned should we be about the issue of chronic absenteeism? Is it the “new normal,” or just a minor, temporary problem? What do you think adults — parents, teachers, reporters and politicians — should know about young people and their relationship to school as we move forward?
As a student that has primarily attended title 1 schools, I have noticed that there is a large difference in attendance at title 1 schools and non-title 1 schools. In title 1 schools, we don't have to complete any work to pass all of our classes. All we have to do as students (usually) is show up and we will have all A's and B's. Because of this, many students will attend class, at least until attendance is taken, and then they will leave for a while. In other schools, if we don't show up, we don't pass our classes. The people skipping either take the hall passes and leave with them, or they don't show up at all. These are mainly students that don't necessarily care about their grades. Also, students enrolled in higher level (typically honors/ap) classes generally have higher attendance rates than that of the students that are not enrolled in those classes. This is true of both title 1 schools and non-title 1 schools. As a current high school student, I can attest to the prevalent issue that is the drastic drop in student attendance rates. One reason that I have witnessed is that the education system and our teachers and district have not placed enough requirements on students. Students have no incentive to go to school if they are capable of skipping and still passing with not just Cs but with As. Students at this age are very grade and point motivated as am I, if our administrators were able to place more points on consistent attendance I assume that the rate of attendance would increase. It's all about the motivation. As a public high school student I've seen the shift in attendance firsthand, at first I thought that everyone was skipping because we had more freedom now that we were able to drive ourselves home. Although after reading the article, I've realized that chronic absenteeism is actually on the rise. I dont think that its due to one singular reason but one that I've noticed is that school has less importance now than pre-pandemic, we didn't come into school for over a year and we still passed, so what harm would missing one single day cause? This optional attitude towards school is briefly addressed in the article, although it mostly focused on the attitudes of parents. I would like to know what percentage of each age group is chronically absent, so we could see if student independence has any effect on absenteeism.
As a member of the youth and a current high school student, I have had an increase in absences since the COVID-19 pandemic, and my relationship with the high school has changed. Despite that, this relationship isn't optional/required but rather a way to pass the time and involve myself with the community. This may seem strange as my absences increased, yet the reason has changed. It is no longer due to the lack of "wanting" to get to school but rather a waste of my time. There are many instances where I go to my classes and there may not even be busy work and I end up spending over 6 hours of my time being babysat instead of doing more productive objectives such as submitting scholarship applications, applying to part-time jobs, or helping around the house. For the most part, the pandemic has affected most people in various ways that I can not speak for, but when it comes to absences it is no longer "faking sick" or just not feeling like showing up, it is much deeper, much more personal. As a high school student, I can see the appeal to skipping school. Waking up in the morning is extremely tired, and I often feel exhausted after staying up to do all of the homework that my classes give me. Some classrooms use a 4 point scale that make it so missing any points on an assignment catastrophic to overall grades. I have friends that skip school, and the excuses that they use are usually that they don't feel well, or are to tired to go to school. I have a particular friend who recently said that she is scared to show up to class because she has missed so much class over the semester. Getting rid of the 4 point scale that some schools are using, and not bombarding students with homework would help students be more likely to go to school. My school does not start too late, but I know some schools that start really early, so allowing school to start later in the day would allow students to get more sleep and be more likely to show up in the first place. Yes, to simply put it yes. Not only has Attendance changed, but many things about school itself. As a student in the Salem Keizer school district, I personally see a difference in schools. Students who go to school without the morals or expectations of previous generations. Our district's "Chronic Absences" sits just under 50% (48%). Not only is this number out of control, the schools seem not to care about changing anything in the current situation. Ironically, the graduation rate in my district and school had increased in the past years since Covid-19. Like a plane's contrail in the sky, the district has left its mark. Simply put, the district is allowing students to pass classes without the right knowledge or skills to be fluent in a subject. The growing trend seems to be accepting this as it's fate. Schools making tests and assignments easier to fit the students wants leaving room for students to skip classes and cause trouble.
I attribute the rise in absenteeism in schools not only to the rise in anxiety and reluctance from students since the pandemic, but also to the progressively standardized curriculums we have had to deal with since elementary school. I feel, as a student, an increasing reluctance to attend school the more I go. Each year, each month, I find myself less and less excited to learn because learning has become something stress-inducing and confusing and competetive and depressing. We are not taught to care about the pursuit of knowledge but about maintaining our GPA and our test scores. We are taught to follow set rubrics and instructions, never really being permitted to, and at times being punished for experimenting with our own creativity and ideas. These conditions are mentally stifling for so many students and I think that is something that is too often overlooked. We cannot expect students to want to come to school if we foster an environment where they constantly feel misunderstood and overwhelmed.
As a current high school Junior my experiences with skipping have been minimal at best, however, I feel strongly that the reason behind skipping is pretty simple. Students don't care as much about school and the system encourages it. When faced with the choice of sitting in a class and learning about the Patagonian theorem or hanging out with friends many students are now choosing the ladder. The lack of care or effort being put forth in school doesn't even affect their grades! This is due to certain classes having minimal grades set at 50%, which is 10% away from a pass. This system is actively encouraging people to put minimal effort into a class just to get a pass and graduate. Removing courses like this would certainly raise the importance of getting the work done. Another solution to this problem would be having attendance as a grade, if your grade depends on you being in classes then most would show up. If you have to show up to class to pass then more students would be inclined to do so. The emphasis is on not bending the knee to people who don't want to show up to class, not giving them a minimal 50%, we should mark attendance for a passing grade, and letting them fail. If we keep letting student skip with minimal consequences then their attitudes won't change and thus hindering our students growth.
As a student from a school district with a 50% chronic absenteeism rate, my relationship with attendance has become very frustrating. I am a very academically motivated student who attends school, works hard, communicates with my teachers, and gets good grades. When my peers don't show up to class and then come back lost and confused causing me to waste time in class it makes me very upset and it makes me want to skip class since I know that we're not doing anything. The problem of chronic absenteeism needs to be solved in order to help ALL students.
With the rising of new ways for students to distract themselves, the motivation to go to school and have the average highschool career, there isn't a reason kids see to show up to school. As a student in high school, there are many classes where I wouldn't even need to show up to do my online assignments. This gives students no real motivation to show up, as why should I when I can do these assignments at home? Canvas, stay home. Lectures, slides are online, stay home. Test? Take it online, cheat for all they care. Stay home. There are a lot of times where kids are virtually online learning. Furthermore, the arising of new distractions during this generation has devalued the idea of work and has devalued going to school, and promoted skipping school to do other things.
As a high school student with well more than a few abscesses, chronic absenteeism is not just the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is something far more simple. Sitting in my AP Lang class right now, about half of the people are gone. Sitting in any one of my classes really, the class is never full. Just the other day in my chemistry class, I saw someone new walk in through the door. Someone I have never seen before, even though we are about a month into the second semester. I came to learn that they have been in that class not only since the beginning of second semester, but the beginning of first semester as well! Over the course of 7 months, the student showed up once. I struck up a conversation with that student and came to learn they had passed first semester with a 93% A. How? Well, here is the simple truth. You don't have to go to class when everything is online. In all of my classes, we use Canvas. The teachers will put their daily lessons and every assignment online. It isn't necessary to come to school anymore when you can do everything online in the comfort of your home. So, I don't need to come to school anymore. I'd rather stay home and do it online.
For me personally, I have noticed a shift in my attendance. I skipped around one class a week as a senior, however, last year I would never skip. Before Covid, I was in middle school where I had less independence so it was a lot more challenging to skip. So while I have skipped more since the pandemic I do not believe the pandemic caused me to inresult skip more. Overall as a class, I believe my peers skip a lot more frequently than the high schoolers before covid.
As a student in high school, I've come to realize the horrible state our attendance has been in since the pandemic. The reason can be simplified into one idea: laziness. We are lazy, willing to do only enough to get by, no more, no less. If a student doesn't need to come to a class to obtain the grade they wish to achieve, then they won't show up. Classes are not challenging enough to make students feel that they are worth going to. My mom is used to getting texts from me during the school day, begging to be excused from a class where "we're doing nothing" or, "I already finished the work", which is true, yet I abuse the opportunity to miss class because I know there will be no greater coincidence, I will still be getting an A. Due to my laziness, I would rather be at home taking a nap than sitting in a class with no greater impact on my life.
During the pandemic, going to school wasn’t a problem. You didn’t have to wake up and instantly dread that you have not finished any paper assignments, you didn’t have to worry about being late to class, and most important of all, you didn’t have to wake up early. But all good things must end. Soon after, the pandemic was over, and we were allowed to return to school. Due to being used to the old schedule, multiple people, both teachers and students were late, and sadly, I was one of those students that were forced to go back to school. Even though I wanted to do online learning, my parents forced me to go though the tough process of going back to school, and now here I am, never getting absences unless I have permission to.
As a student who attends a public high school, and works in attendance, I have seen a scary amount of people who don't attend class specifically by skipping, and from what I've seen a lot of it comes from problems with discipline, and during my conversations with the security guards (Shout out to Josh and Rodney) they've told me many excuses they've heard from students ranging from "I don't like my teacher", to "I don't like the subject" to "I just don't wanna go" but it's always the same people who skip class and those people have had problems with discipline in the past and to me I believe discipline is the main issue with attendance.
As a high schooler myself I understand the absolute dread of going to school each morning. I don't view school as optional, I don't discredit education and I do have good attendance but I see why others don't. School is draining, its exahsting, its stressful and sometimes it feels like a boring waste of time. I find that teachers hardly explain lessons and assignments, then expect us to pass tests, and turn in homework on time. This is not to hate on teachers, my mom is a teacher and I see how hard she works, I am simply saying that our education system is failing. For example, last year I had physics, and I got an A both semesters but I learned NOTHING, after 9 months of going to my physics class I cannot honestly say what physics is. This shows that grades dont show how much a student has learned, they simply raise anxiety levels and make me dread going to school.
