School Attendance

“How was your day at school?” “Did you have fun?” “Who did you play with?” When we hear these questions, many of us flashback to our childhood; when we were excited for school. As we grow up, we lose interest in school. Some are bored with classes, have bullying issues, or have problems with school work. Whatever your reason for not attending school, you must remember that school attendance is crucial for being successful. Good attendance shows potential employers that you are reliable. Employers are in search of employees that are punctual and who will be effective members of their company. If you do not attend school, then you will miss out on many opportunities of gaining qualifications that are needed. Without a job or career, you will not be an active member of society. You will not have an income and life will be hard. Not attending school sets a bad example for younger students. Younger pupils often look up to older students as role models and want to follow in their footsteps. Your attendance rate is important because you are more likely to excel in academics when you attend school consistently. It's difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent. In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communities. If you do not attend school, you miss the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities create a positive impact not only on a student’s life, but their peers, and the community. Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. Extracurricular activities provide a setting to become involved and to interact with other students, thus leading to increased learning and enhanced development. A wide range of extracurricular activities exist at our schools, meeting a variety of student interests. A few extracurricular activities that I participate in are: National Honors Society, Upward Bound, and the 4H Teen Club. School budgets may suffer when students do not attend school. In many states, school budgets are based on the average daily attendance at a school. If many students enrolled at a school fail to consistently attend, the school has less money to pay for essential classroom needs. This puts a hold on advance learning. There are many ways of increasing school attendance. One way is parents, school, and faculty working together to focus of reducing absences and keeping kids in school. Another effective way of increasing school attendance is by making school a place where students feel welcome. Friendly teachers and faculty help to create a positive environment. Schools can also create an environment that enables students to feel successful in something–no matter how small it may seem. To promote attendance, schools can award academic and attendance “letters,” as they do for athletics. The most effective method I believe is when parents have a talk with their child, explaining the importance of school and discussing why they missed. This creates an awareness that your parent truly cares about you and your future. School prepares you for the real world by creating a responsibility for completing homework, attending consistently, being punctual, etc. It helps to form good habits that should follow you throughout life. Regular attendance enables effective learning, develops habits of commitment and dependability and opens doorways to future success.