A semester at PCA has once again gone by in a flash and the students prepare to tackle the second semester of the year! However, after Christmas Break of 2024, the administration has implemented a new tardy policy because of the reasoning of many students not being on time for their classes or “slacking off”, as you would call it. If you ask a teacher or an administrator at PCA, they would probably tell you they agree with the rule because it tells the students to take the tardy rule seriously by providing consequences that go along with it. From a student perspective, I believe that increases anxiety and stress, more of a punitive approach rather than supportive for the students, or even students feeling as if some teachers are biased towards the rule or favor some students more than others. Whether it is this or that, I am here to tell you why the tardy rule is bad for business at school.
Senior Marley Dickens says, “I live 30 minutes away, and I know people who are like an hour away from the school. Traffic can affect kids being on time, and if you’re then a minute late, that can count you towards detention.”
Although students may miss class time by showing up late, this rule will make kids not show up at all to class rather than being late in general because of the fear of detention. The looming threat of detention of things that cannot be controlled such as traffic and wrecks can create more stress for people that live far away and have to take the highway to school.
Senior Audra Lee, “I believe some teachers are fine if you are only a little late, but I also believe that some teachers are also only flexible in tardiness towards students they find favorable, so it creates bias.”
A senior in high school would probably have experienced teachers being biased or if students feel as if some teachers are nicer to other students rather than them. Even though a teacher would disagree with this comment, there have been many students who have experienced the same feeling. This also creates fear in students who know they are going to be late for that teacher’s class, and they skip it all altogether.
Lastly, Junior Isaiah V. Leos says, “Three tardies is too small for one detention, especially if the tardies do not restart until the next semester.”
As a reminder, a semester is around 4 ½ months in the school year. Getting three tardies in one class in 4 ½ is very unrealistic. Considering a semester is 16-18 weeks, getting detention after three weeks seems like an overreaction, especially when there are other major issues to worry about in school rather than being late to one class.
Overall, I feel that the new tardy rule is an unnecessary burden for the students. Even though it could be seen as a good thing, I feel as if the rule backfires in various ways and does more harm than good.
