The current tardy policy in place at Riverside Brookfield High School states that being late “disrupts the flow of the education process,” but what does lateness really disrupt? During first period only the morning announcements are being played and they can be and usually are interrupted by talking students.
I think that the tardy policy at school should be slightly revised for first period because students have the most to do in the morning. My big issue is with the morning announcements. Why should students have to rush to class if we are not missing any learning? I am not saying that we should have a long time to get there, but I personally think the bell shouldn’t ring until after the announcements have been made. If a student misses the announcements they can ask to see the bulletin after class, holding up no one but themselves.
I also don’t understand how being late, missing announcements and at worst the pledge, is a detention-worthy offense. If kids are lollygagging in the halls and wasting the teacher’s time then yes they should be reprimanded, but when they are rushing to get ready and walking hastily through the halls they should not be in trouble. I realize that this is not a teacher by teacher thing, but it is their choice to enforce it as harshly or as easily as they see fit.
Some teachers feel that the tardy policy should be a little more lenient, but the people affected the most by the current tardy policy are the kids, like Sophomore Cameron Webber.
Webber said, “ I am late a lot but I try my best to rush to school, when I try I still end up late and grounded by my parents and usually with a detention.”
The problem is that kids don’t want to be late, but it happens. Bike tires pop, cars stall, and feet hurt so when a kid tries his best to get to class and is only a few minutes late, he deserves to give his side of the story and should not be punished.
Teachers have to enforce the policy to those who interrupt class, but a kid who walks in during the announcements should not be punished because he is not interrupting anything. Teachers do not need to be so adamant about the policy until it becomes a recurring problem, but in my opinion students walking in during the announcements are not causing a problem.
Daniel • Jan 15, 2020 at 7:51 am
I think you should simply have an extra one or two minutes to get to class
Jennifer Burau • May 27, 2010 at 8:27 am
I actually disagree with all of you on this topic. As high school students, we are responsible for attending school for a set amount of time everyday. There are many times when we are asked why we should be trusted, whether it’s from a parent asking us this or it’s during a job interview. If being late isn’t a big deal to you, then who’s to say you won’t be late on your way to work everyday? I personally don’t think it is a big deal to get to where you need to be on time. You shouldn’t have to be reminded by threats of getting a detention to be on time to where ever it is you need to go. Being late isn’t hard to adjust, if you’re always 5 minutes late to school, you can simply wake up 5 minutes earlier everyday and avoid situations like getting a detention. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.
Carly Havranek • May 10, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I do too believe that the tardy policy is too strict. If students truly try to get to class, they shouldn’t get punished for it.
On the other hand, how would the school faculty know that one specific student rushed to class that day? Unfortunately, I think there are too many seniors with ‘senioritis’ who do lollygag and come late on purpose, to distinguish the rushing students from the slow-walking.
I believe the solution to this problem could be to make the tardy policy less strict, or to just get rid of the tardy policy all together.
Ashlee Haugh • May 10, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I think that the tardy policy is stupid. We shouldn’t be punished just because we are two minutes late to school. The students do sometimes run into trouble, maybe a problem with a friend in the hallway or maybe a flat tire even, that doesn’t mean you give him a detention when he walks in late.
If a student comes in 20 minutes late to class, then yeah they should get a detention because most likely they have been walking around doing nothing. The passes also, that teachers give should be given to a student in the front office if he/she comes in late before first period.
The solution can be fixed by just allowing the students to come in late in the morning and after the announcements. But if a student comes in 20 minutes late then yes, a punishment should be forced.