Every student has his or her reasoning behind not attending school, but what the future holds for those not attending class, or simply not caring about their education, is slowly coming to the surface.
Students have been conditioned to follow academic schedules which were put into place centuries ago. Whether it be showing up to class on time, getting things turned in, or showing up to school with a positive and helpful attitude. However, there seems to be a plague of chronic absenteeism spreading among the students of this generation.
Every day, more and more students are counted absent from school. The reasoning behind their absence is questioned as advisors don’t know if it is for a good reason or just pure laziness.
Most students and even adults dread the time their alarm clock rings. Whether it be because they lacked a good night’s rest, they are mentally not ready for the day, or their bed is simply too comfortable to part from.
Education has become something that feels like a chore rather than something people are blessed to have. So many of the teens in Generation Z have lost all motivation to participate and give their all in school and it is affecting not only their future but the futures of others around them.
A variety of teachers and students from Fremont High School shared their opinions and thoughts on what is happening, not just here, but all around the globe. Most say it’s the student’s own doing, but is that really all we can blame for this situation?
Not only is there a spike in students’ absence, but there is also a spike in teens doing drugs, bullying and scrolling endlessly through social media. These are prime reasons students of all ages at Fremont High School stop caring about whether or not they are showing up on a certain day. However, those same students don’t realize that what they do now is seriously affecting their own future.
“People count on you, and when you get a job people are going to count on you way more than they count on you as a student in a classroom, ” Stacey Smith, an English teacher at Fremont High School.
If students don’t begin to take their lives more seriously, then the likelihood of creating employable people will continue to decrease as the school year goes on. Some students truly cannot show up to school because they have more serious things to deal with. However, there is a difference between when a kid wants to do well but their family or mental problems are holding them back, and when a kid just doesn’t want to do better. Even so, most teachers sympathize with kids no matter what situation they are in
“I do [sympathize] because I think there are legit reasons,” Luke Grenier, a math teacher at Fremont High School. “There are some kids who have some really tough lives and some tough situations with families and it’s unfortunate that their best last choice is to miss school that day.”
Not all kids are given the benefit of the doubt when their reasoning behind not wanting to wake up on time is staying up late playing video games or wasting their night scrolling through their phones.
With the many factors that play into these types of scenarios, it is easy to blame the teacher. Even though it’s a teacher’s job to teach, they shouldn’t have to take the time out of their class to reteach something because the students chose to not be there.
“I think what’s best for the individual has to come on personal time before and after school. I love making those arrangements,” Grenier said. “When you count how many students actually do that if you don’t care about school, why would you care enough to come in before and after school to make up work? It’s just not gonna happen.”
Most, if not all, teachers want their students to excel in what they do, but at the end of the day, it is up to the students and their families to find a way to make the most of their life while they still can. It will take time. It will take discipline and it will take dedication but that doesn’t mean it’ll never happen.
In the right time, everyone will be able to overcome what they don’t talk about but it is up to the person to start that process. No matter how much one may want it to be, forcing someone to care for something isn’t always easy, but that doesn’t mean starting isn’t possible.
