Anarchy!

The tardy policy is a joke, and too many students are showing up late.

They should be dealt with just as severely as students who miss class entirely. Students need to realize that being on time to class consistently is vital to getting the most out of every class.

Disrupting class by walking in five minutes late is not only disrespectful to the teacher, but it also interrupts your own class experience and the experience of everyone else in the room.

A study done by PerformWell, a nonprofit educational policy research organization, showed that chronic tardiness causes lower grades and lower test scores. Tardiness can also be linked to low graduation rates.

Students are expected to finish assignments on time, stay organized, and keep up with the rigor of high school courses. Chronic tardiness will make you miss out on short review sessions or time to talk to a teacher in the first few minutes.

When a student  shows up late to class, attention is immediately drawn away from whatever the teacher is saying to the students. As stated in the Pilot, teachers are supposed to close their doors after the bell rings, and unless a student has a tardy pass, they will not be admitted to class. The school should create a tardy center that students have to go to when they are late to cement the fact that tardies are just as bad as absences. Giving a student one detention per tardy does not make students want to be on time. Students can have 10, 15, 30 detentions and get off scot free.

It is understandable that sometimes you aren’t to blame for your tardiness. Everyone has been late.

Being accountable for your own actions is important. As a student who is constantly being affected by peers waltzing into class late, making as much noise as possible, and distracting the teacher, it’s time to take a stand. Realize that you can never get the most out of any class unless you are always prepared, always paying attention, and always on time.