Every year seniors wait as patiently as can be expected for a class-wide vacation day. This custom, more formally known as Ditch Day, is a long-honored tradition of RB and other high schools around the world…what a sad statement for today’s youth. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy getting a break from the everyday worries of school as much as the next person, but ditch day still seems to me a tradition not worth honoring.
I understand, of course, that when looked at from a broad scale missing one day of school isn’t going to make any noticeable difference. Kids miss school all the time for illnesses and other activities without putting a dent in their education. The secrets of how to succeed in life aren’t going to be revealed to them on that one day that they aren’t in class.
What really bothers me is the principle of the matter. Many defend their participation in ditch day by claiming that it is an honored tradition and one of the perks of being a senior and having finally made it to the top of the food chain (the other perks apparently being that we band together to vandalize the school once a year and occasionally pelt quivering heaps of freshmen with our spare change).
If ditch day was simply a method for upholding tradition then one assigned day of ditching would suffice. As of this year, numerous ditch days continue to be organized and carried out. Those who utilize tradition as an excuse for taking a vacation day cannot deny that it only takes a single day to do uphold custom as opposed to three.
All excuses aside, ditch day still seems to represent how under-appreciative a majority of students are to be getting an education. According to the United Nations Development Program, over 113 million children worldwide do not receive an education at all. These children did not make this decision for themselves; they were left no other option.
Above all else, this educational deprivation is what drives me to believe that those who participate in ditch day take too much of their lives for granted. This is only exacerbated by the fact that the overwhelming majority of high school students are not paying for their education themselves, but are instead relying on their parents’ money.
Ditch day also disrupts class-time for those who actually choose to come to school. Most teachers will not attempt to carry out a lesson as planned when there are only six people present in their classroom to hear it. As a result, the decision to skip school on ditch day affects not only those who ditch, but those who come to class as well.
It also seems highly disrespectful to the teachers who find themselves left with classrooms consisting of only 4-5 students on ditch day. Not only do these teachers have to continue performing their job with minimal participation, but they also have to sort through torrents of absent work as a result.
As ditch day rolls around again we must each ask ourselves whether or not it is a tradition worth honoring.
My answer is an unwavering no.