I thought about the current FHS attendance policy as I tanned on a Hawaiian beach. As I absorbed some UV rays, I also I completely ruined my chance of avoiding taking semester tests at the end of the year — a few days before I graduate. The impending semester tests loom in my mind. Although I maintain ‘A’ averages in all my classes, I will still have to be tested at the end of the year to see if I learned the information presented. I obviously have, or I wouldn’t have such high marks. Students with an ‘A’ in a class have grasped the information and shouldn’t be penalized with tedious tests about it; instead, students with high averages should be exempt from the dreaded semester tests. This would offer an incentive for students to achieve higher grades. Students in turn will attend class more regularly, because it is difficult to maintain high grades when missing class. Absences are absolutely necessary, both for physical and mental sake. Before this quarter, I never missed more than two days in a semester; often I missed less because I saved absences for when I would really “need” them. I always worked around absence days, staying up nights to finish projects. There were actually times when I came to school without sleeping for two days simply to show up for the sake of policy. But my choices were unhealthy. I didn’t lower my standards for my work, so there were times when I was in class that I shouldn’t have been. I came to school sick, tired and unstable, because I didn’t want to face semester tests. By offering an incentive for grades, rather than a penalty for absences, the school would be teaching us to challenge the capacity of our minds — instead of seeing for how many days in a row we can go without sleep. |
