Indiana

School Daze

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

I’m taking a few seconds today to write about something other than politics.  I’m actually writing about college.  At one the schools I teach at they’ve instituted a new policy;  the instructors are now required to take attendance at the beginning and end of each class. 

The logic is that students should be as acclimated to the world of work as possible so someone thought making them “punch in and punch out” would be the best way to do it.  Now as instructors, we are obligated to carry out the policies of the institutions we teach in, but I’ve always wondered if mandatory attendance policies in higher education is a good idea.

I’ve always believed that as a student, you have a responsibility to come to class, period.  It’s part of being a grown up. Now some classes (i.e. history) being there everyday may not be as important as say calculus or nursing.  And I’ve never understood students who chronically miss class.  You wouldn’t spend $7.00 on a burger and fries, get your food and not eat so why would you do it for an education that costs you thousands of dollars a year?

As a teacher/instructor my job is make the class engaging enough so that students don’t want to miss class and they feel bad when they do.  I also have a duty to make sure that’s what taught in the class isn’t necessarily what’s in the text, so students should have a reason to come.   And students who tend not to show up, tend not to do so well.

I’ve never thought making people show up somewhere is a good idea.  Smart people get it.  Good teachers get.  The ones who tend not to show up are the ones who probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

Back to politics tomorrow.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on August 26, 2008 (boomark / email).