Although it is part of their professional duty, many teachers fail to be helpful for students outside of the classroom needs.

Far too often, complaints are heard about teachers not responding to emails or being late to a.m. support. These acts show a lack of care from the teacher to the student.

For starters, whenever the school hires a teacher, the teacher must sign a contract stating that they will be in the classroom by 8 a.m. everyday for a.m. support, among other things. Let’s not send the wrong message here. The majority of teachers do abide by this rule, but there still are some who are inconsistent in regards to attendance at a.m. support.

As a student who has experienced a teacher bailing on a.m. support, it is certainly an empty feeling. That feeling of going in early for extra help just to find out that the teacher isn’t there when you need them.

However, it is understandable if a teacher is running late due to a family concern. It isn’t reasonable to expect perfect a.m. support attendance from them.

The next issue that deserves to be talked about is teachers not replying to emails in a timely fashion or simply not at all. Nothing is more aggravating than when you send an important email, perhaps a question, and the teacher doesn’t respond. This leaves the student in an anxious, awkward situation where they don’t know what to do.

Teachers, do us a favor and check your emails regularly, if you don’t already. That includes after school hours as well. Some teachers say they won’t check their school emails when school is not in session, but that’s pathetic to me. It is their job for crying out loud, they should be aware of it when they are at home.

Last but not least, we all know that high school students’ lives are filled with rigorous course load and demanding extracurriculars. So, if a student needs to meet with a teacher for example, the teacher should do everything in their power to work around the student’s schedule.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case for many students.

If the teacher is physically unable to meet one-on-one at a reasonable time, then that is acceptable. But as stated previously, it is up to the teacher to make sure the student’s needs are met. For example, if a student can only meet at 7:30 a.m. one day, then the teacher should try their best to be here early for that student. It not only demonstrates selflessness from the teacher, but it could really boost a student’s confidence to know that there is an adult in the building that cares about them.

To conclude this rant of sorts, a suggestion is brought forth.

A teacher has three strikes per quarter. If they show up past 8:25 a.m. without a legitimate reason that equals a strike. Three strikes and you’re out. Well, kind of.

If a teacher comes to the classroom past this time on three separate occasions, then the department chairs step in and have a talk with this teacher about why they were unattendant and how they will fix this in the future. It might sound ridiculous and unnecessary, but that is just added incentive to be there each and everyday for the students.