Why Your Child Should be in the Classroom as Much as Possible

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why your child should be in the classroom as much as possible

I am confident that most parents know that their 6, 12, or 15-year-old need to be in school. However, it is not always quite so clear as to why regular school attendance is so important.

Can’t they just make up the work they miss? Isn’t it something they can catch up on by reading a chapter in a book? Is every single day really that important?

As an educator, I’m here to tell you that regular attendance is absolutely important. And in recognition of Attendance Awareness Month, here are my top reasons why your child should be in the classroom as much as possible, straight from the teacher’s desk…

Consistency

Your student needs to have a consistent experience in the classroom. If they are often out, they never get used to the rhythm of how school runs. Many of my students who struggled in school academically often did not have regular attendance. It is hard to tell whether the academic problems or the attendance problems came first, but one thing is certain — consistent academic performance goes hand-in-hand with consistent attendance.

Make Up Work is Not Instruction

I love it when students travel. Seeing and experiencing new places is a teacher in and of itself, and I believe experiences outside of the classroom can be just as valuable as what happens inside the classroom. I also love it when parents let me know that they are going to be traveling during the school year. It gives me, and their child, the ability to for prepare for appropriate instruction ahead of time. But, and it is a big BUT, students miss direct instruction from the teacher. Completing make up work is a poor substitute for actually being in the classroom and having the instructor teach your child how to convert fractions to decimals, or the difference between a mixture and a solution, or when to use a semi-colon.

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Sure your child can make up the work, but it’s not the same as having instruction from a teacher (or the ability to ask questions for clarity).

Learning is Social

Opinion alert! Not everyone will agree with me on this, but I believe more heads are better than one. I also believe that processing learning through talking, writing and collaborating is key to that very same learning being internalized by students. Students learn just as much from their peers as they do from the adults in their life. They need time to learn with, and from, their friends at school. In this age of technological devices, this also builds social skills that in the modern world may be lacking for some children.

Now, here is my disclaimer. I know that things happen. Students get sick. Family emergencies occur. No one is saying that kids can never miss school, but limiting it as much as possible is very important to the success of your student.

So, what is the 411 on attendance in South Carolina? Students are required to be in school 180 days. They can have as many as 10 absences in a school year, but any more than that and schools start getting touchy. Every school enforces and reminds parents about the importance of regular attendance, and they all want your student to be there as many days as possible. As parents, it is important to find out the specific policies each school, and district, might have regarding excusing absences and accounting for absences since it can vary.

See you at school!

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