Imagine you wake up early on a Monday morning, dreading school but facing the reality that you must get up and get ready. As your alarm blares at seven, you call your father since he drops you off at school daily. There is no response; the house is empty. Your parents left for work early, leaving you a text to catch the bus as there is no other way to get to school. Your one problem is that the bus has already left. There goes one of your scarce unexcused absences for a reason you could not control.
Students at EHS are limited to six unexcused absences before they have to attend summer school for credit completion. Compared to schools around us like New Brunswick High School, the number of unexcused absences given to students here at EHS is lower. Most schools around us have ten or more unexcused absences, while EHS students receive barely half of that. Fewer unexcused absences give less room to be absent from school in case of a legitimate emergency. Due to this, students at EHS are pressured to be present because just one or two absences per marking period may put them over their total limit by June. Although some might say that an increase in absences would result in disrupted education, we aren’t suggesting that a student should receive an excessive amount. We believe that students in EHS should receive at least eight to ten unexcused absences each year to increase their physical and mental well-being while maintaining academic integrity.
First, having an increased amount of unexcused absences can have physical health benefits. Although using an unexcused absence to relax may seem like a waste of an educational opportunity, students have many problems that they might need to take days off. Still, the most common problem faced by high school students is sickness. Catching a cold is ordinary, especially in this illness-ridden winter season, and students don’t currently have the absences to take a sick day off freely. A doctor’s note only covers a certain amount of days based on your sickness and can also be unnecessary in most conditions. More often than not, the common cold will only last a day or two before someone feels ready to go back to school again. Going to the doctor for this reason can be extremely expensive with doctor’s visits depending on the co-pay from the student’s health insurance provider. Because of these unreasonable costs, many don’t go to the doctor to get a note during a one-day cold, sacrificing one of their few unexcused absences. Additionally, high school students often stay up late for unavoidable reasons such as large amounts of assignments, piled-on assessments, and part-time working hours—all while managing extracurriculars. A lack of sleep leads to a student going to school fatigued. Studies from the Douglas Research Center show that students perform better academically when allowed to rest more. The body’s pain from a lack of significant rest results in decreased brain functionality and damages physical functions (like hand-eye coordination) necessary for learning—not to mention the impact on one’s immunity.
With an increased amount of unexcused absences, students in need of a break would have more days to rely on instead of playing absence roulette and constantly preserving their absences for emergencies—and then, ironically, not using any by the end of the year. Also, an additional day to rest assists in relieving physical soreness, including pain or soreness from sports practice. Healthline shows that extra rest days for students can relieve the body and decrease the risk of injury. Would you rather take a day off to rest your body once in a while or face a strong possibility of injury because you do not have enough absences to rest? Most likely, you would choose the first option.
The lack of unexcused absences not only hampers physical health but also hurts students mentally. Students already face the constant pressure of keeping their grades up, causing them to sacrifice their emotional well-being to study. According to the American Psychological Association, taking a mental health day off can boost grades since stress impairs memory and other cognitive skills necessary for learning. So, by giving students more days to take a break, schools increase students’ academic performances rather than lowering them.
School should not only be about attaining the best grades but about instilling interest in future career opportunities in students. However, with the pressure of juggling multiple classes and personal lives, many students aim to just pass instead of retaining the crucial information and skills that could be useful for achieving upcoming endeavors. Adding more days to the unexcused absence total relieves stress and shifts kids’ priorities from mere passing to genuine learning.
Simply put, EHS should increase the number of unexcused absences from six to ten— a smart move in the best interest of students’ well-being and academic success, benefiting the minds of tomorrow.
