How skipping class affects educational achievement
Absenteeism in class is a very common behavior among students. Missing one day from school sets in motion a disruption whose chain effects may eventually affect a student’s academic performance. It starts with a student missing one or two classes, then it adds up to missing a day or two, finally it becomes a habit which is very addictive. This is not a big deal to most students today. Experts say chronic absenteeism may start from as early as kindergarten and no matter the reason, it always has a negative outcome in a student’s educational performance. When making a comparison, students who are not always in school have a rare chance of performing and thriving in their academics. Whereas those who do not skip classes have greater chances of performing better and are deemed to become potentially successful people later in life.
Research indicates that with just from only five misses in school, tremendous negative change begins to show in the student’s performance. Studies have also shown that those who miss more classes are likely to have lower chances to graduate as compared to those who attend school frequently. Most of these students assume that missing school for only a few days does not have a direct impact on their academics, which is very wrong. For most of them, their parents are not aware about their absenteeism or other parents don’t even care about it. What these youngsters don’t understand is that skipping school for even the shortest time possible can have a high negative impact on both your grades and the possibility of you ever graduating.
Parents and teachers are the most important tool for fighting this addictive behavior. These are some tips they can implement to overcome cases of their kids missing out on an important milestone in their life.
1) Advocate for open communications. Parent and teachers should be open to the kids to create a platform where these kids are free to air out their troubles.
2) Involvement in the child’s life. A parent should attend school functions, follow up on an assignment and check their kid’s progress reports frequently. This helps the kid to feel that the parent is part and parcel of their academic journey.
3) Create awareness on the importance of education. We all know the factoid “what you don’t know will not affect you”; when a child understands the importance of being in school they will willingly put more effort for their own good.
4) Let the child feel that whatever is taught in school is part of real life. Most children miss school because they assume what is in class doesn’t connect to real life. For instance, how does learning integers help you sell cookies in a bakery?
5) Let your kids understand that there will be consequences for their absenteeism. Parents should come up with consequences for their kids if they miss class. The kids should understand that you do not accept or tolerate search behaviors.
6) The parent should also emphasize this often to make sure the kids don’t forget. This may be done through frequent talks with them. One can even write a warning signpost for them and stick it in a place that can be easily seen.
Finally; as custodians of education, we should be able to understand that every element is key in a child’s success. Missing classes is a sign of trouble or a troubled kid. Once this is noticed, it should be handled immediately and carefully. For others, it may just be for their own pleasure while for others it may be due to very serious circumstances affecting them. Teachers too should be able to deal with such cases diligently. Whatever the problem is, try to sit down with the kid so as to talk it through and find a solution. Dealing with it at an early stage may, in fact, save you from more stress. It’s up to everyone to understand that they are all custodians of education and should take part in the process.
