2008 Woodie Awards
Students should regulate class attendance, not professors
Lindsey Brice/for the Muleskinner
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
You wake up with a runny nose, fever and are on the verge of death.
Okay, maybe not that bad, but you're sick.
The weather is cold, and you have to walk to class. You think maybe you won't go to class because after all, you're not well, but that's when you realize that if you miss one more class your grade will be lowered.
You get dressed, load up your books, and you're off to spread a virus campus wide.
Of course, you could make this an "excused absence" for $15 plus any lab work and an opportunity to have the Health Center tell you that you have a cold.
Some teachers even require prescriptions to count absences as excused.
If you're like me, I hate going to the doctor, and I'm not going to go for a sneeze and a cough.
For one, I'd rather save my money than have the Health Center tell me what I already know.
Secondly, it's a little unfair to pay $15 and more to earn my grade in class.
Also, why do some teachers leave the responsibility of attending up to you, while others take points off for missing too many classes?
If you are missing classes consistently and failing, that's your own fault, and the teacher reserves every right to not provide the missing material.
You're an adult now; you know whether you can afford to miss class or not.
Then there is the argument that by making attendance mandatory, the teacher is preparing you for the "real world."
This is true; however, surely by now most students have had some sort of job; therefore, have learned this valuable lesson. Those that haven't learned this probably don't have jobs.
Also, I'm paying for college while a job is paying me. When the teachers begin paying me, then they can lower my grade if I miss.
Here's my point. Let my grade reflect the work I did, rather than how many times I came to class.
I don't agree with the fact that I could be doing fine in the class, doing all the readings at home and passing the tests with flying colors, but because I have had one too many unexcused absences, my grade drops.
I am not condoning the idea of going out every night and missing classes because of a hangover.
It should be the responsibility of the students to earn their grade regardless of how many classes they have missed.
So take all of this for what it's worth, and in the meantime, get out of bed and go to class.
Okay, maybe not that bad, but you're sick.
The weather is cold, and you have to walk to class. You think maybe you won't go to class because after all, you're not well, but that's when you realize that if you miss one more class your grade will be lowered.
You get dressed, load up your books, and you're off to spread a virus campus wide.
Of course, you could make this an "excused absence" for $15 plus any lab work and an opportunity to have the Health Center tell you that you have a cold.
Some teachers even require prescriptions to count absences as excused.
If you're like me, I hate going to the doctor, and I'm not going to go for a sneeze and a cough.
For one, I'd rather save my money than have the Health Center tell me what I already know.
Secondly, it's a little unfair to pay $15 and more to earn my grade in class.
Also, why do some teachers leave the responsibility of attending up to you, while others take points off for missing too many classes?
If you are missing classes consistently and failing, that's your own fault, and the teacher reserves every right to not provide the missing material.
You're an adult now; you know whether you can afford to miss class or not.
Then there is the argument that by making attendance mandatory, the teacher is preparing you for the "real world."
This is true; however, surely by now most students have had some sort of job; therefore, have learned this valuable lesson. Those that haven't learned this probably don't have jobs.
Also, I'm paying for college while a job is paying me. When the teachers begin paying me, then they can lower my grade if I miss.
Here's my point. Let my grade reflect the work I did, rather than how many times I came to class.
I don't agree with the fact that I could be doing fine in the class, doing all the readings at home and passing the tests with flying colors, but because I have had one too many unexcused absences, my grade drops.
I am not condoning the idea of going out every night and missing classes because of a hangover.
It should be the responsibility of the students to earn their grade regardless of how many classes they have missed.
So take all of this for what it's worth, and in the meantime, get out of bed and go to class.
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