Attendance, Empathy, and Opportunity

When I attended Hampton-Dumont way, way back in the early 2000's (intentional pun) we had a defined attendance policy: if you're late to a class by the time the bell rings, you receive a tardy notification. If you managed to obtain a designated number within a quarter, you were given a Saturday detention, which, if unattended to, resulted in an after-school in-school suspension at double the time missed. The Saturday detention method seemed to work, as it was run by our large liaison officer and enforced consistently enough. This policy was clearly outlined in the student handbook, both in physical format and on-line, which the students were asked to direct their attention to at the start of the year.

Today at NU High, I was able to witness a paradigm shift in attendance.

Throughout the year, according to my field experience mentor instructor, attendance has been an issue. Many students in her classes, 11-12 grade students seeking to finish up their fourth year of required English coursework, are habitually late. Some students are usually no later than a few minutes, others come in fifteen minutes past the check-in time, and, of course, not all students arrive late.

The interim principal spoke with two of my classes today directly about the issue, where some students have been tardy over twenty times in a single semester. I was surprised by how the situation was handled, because I expected empathy and understanding on behalf of his part. According to JoAnne Dowd, a high school teacher from Maine, who wrote an article on classroom management entitled "Refusing to Play the Blame Game," stated that "encouraging students to confront their own behavior and contribute to classroom solutions is far more effective than imposing solutions or lecturing." The problem I saw today was that there was an "us vs. them" mentality that was determined immediately when the principal spoke. He frequently used phrases that emphasized the word "you," causing students to react with hostility, because they felt that blame was being placed solely upon their shoulders.

Now, in many regards, I completely understand the frustration on behalf of the faculty at NU High. Not only is it our job to make sure students are in school and learning, we have to deal with the reality that some students are hostile towards the rigid traditional educational system. If students don't show up to class on time teachers feel disrespected, because they think if "Student X" is habitually late, he or she must not care about the content of this classroom. I also empathize with the principal, who is professionally between a rock and a hard place. "I hate having to be the attendance Nazi," he said. "But it's my job to see that you guys are here every day."

Oftentimes, however, teachers don't honestly stop and think from the student's perspective. The fact of the matter is that NU High's decision to address attendance on April Fool's Day, on a Friday, seven weeks before classes end for the summer, was a poor decision. According to my mentor, attendance hasn't really been checked on across the board by faculty. Some instructors choose to ignore the issue and let students off the hook. Immediately dropping unexpected rule changes with serious consequences, such as being dropped from courses and therefore being unable to graduate, just isn't a good idea. There should have been better implementation of this policy, regardless that it has existed in the handbook all year. Giving students nearly a year of leeway, then taking it back and using it to intimidate because everyone forgot to read the fine print isn't a positive way to handle the situation. As my favorite saying goes, "it takes two to tango."

So, I have to ask myself at this point: how would I handle this situation? How is it possible to deal with the attendance issue, while maintaining the respect and cooperation with two groups of people?

First, I think it has to start at an empathetic level. Teachers need to be more vocal with their students, in private conversation when addressing behavior issues, about what they personally feel. By being open, honest, and human with students, they may be more apt to cooperate. Educational authors Rick Smith and Mary Lambert make an excellent point in their article "Assuming the Best":

"Whenever students walk into the classroom, assume they hold an invisible contract in their hands, which states, 'Please teach me appropriate behavior in a safe and structured environment.' The teacher also has a contract, which states, 'I will do my best to teach you appropriate behavior in a safe and structured environment.'"

It may sound hokey, but I think they're absolutely correct. Students want to learn. They want to be respected and they want to be given the opportunity to grow, just like any educator. It's just that, oftentimes, they don't want to show it, it isn't "cool" in their culture!

Teachers need to be able to show that they feel and that they care. Telling a student that you completely understand his or her situation and provide examples that reinforce that understanding are extremely important.

Secondly, I felt that this situation could have been handled better in a democratic manner. I think that, instead of "dropping the bomb," so to speak, the faculty should have presented students the opportunity to voice their opinions on the subject of non-attendance. Perhaps the school should have promoted a meeting several days prior (allowing the students ample time to prepare), then merged classrooms with the highest numbers of non-attendant students to form a town hall conference.

Students, as I mentioned prior, want to be heard and made important. By addressing the issue Socratically, in a respectful and orderly fashion, a consensus could have been made with a lot less truancy.

Lastly, and most importantly, this should have been addressed a lot earlier. It's a no-brainer when this kind of thing happens. Sometimes, punishment is needed to enforce a serious situation. I think that, in this case, the removal of open-campus and student lounge privileges is valid; however, I just wish that there would have been more of an effort to plan and incorporate the announcement, rather than sensationalizing the seriousness in such a sudden and ineffective manner.

The bottom line is this: students need the opportunity to grow and make mistakes. Teachers and administrators need to be willing to look at both sides of an argument and address them. That doesn't mean that teachers should have to give and break to every whim of every student, but it does mean that we should be respectful enough to listen and refuse to make disagreements one-sided.

UNI's College of Education motto is: "Preparing reflective, responsible decision makers in a global and diverse, democratic society." Why don't we make an effort to make this mission statement a reality?

Schools should let their students grow. Image on behalf of cgkinla.

Quotes from:

Refusing to Play the Blame Game by JoAnne Dowd
Classroom Management, Volume 54 Number 8, May 1997

Assuming the Best by Rick Smith and Mary Lambert
Educational Leadership, Volume 66 Number 1, September 2008

-Mr. G