by Jordyn Newsome

The tardy policy is something every student, regardless of grade, has to deal with. The overall concept is that if you have too many tardies, you’ll be faced with some sort of punishment. I have no problem with the idea of this policy, as students shouldn’t be allowed to be constantly late. My problem with it is how strict the policy is.

For example, 10 tardies will cause you to miss a lot of school-related activities, meaning that simply showing up late to class 10 times will prevent you from participating in a myriad of things.   

The reason this is overly strict, in my opinion, is due to how hard it can be to get to your classes. Many kids have all of their classes incredibly spread out, which can make it hard to get to one class to another in a timely fashion. This paired with the crowd in the commons and the fact that many kids choose to loiter in the long, winding hallways of the school instead of going to their classes, makes the hallways crowded and difficult to navigate. 

In order to get an accurate idea of how most students and teachers feel about this, I interviewed four students and two teachers, the question being simple: “Do you feel that the tardy policy is too strict?” 

Layla Ritterskamp said, “I feel like that ten tardies is too few for one semester. The amount of school events that’s in around half the year means that you would miss a lot. Also imagine you’re having a family situation, and then you’re paying for it for months.”

Brielle Viera agrees that the policy is too strict. “Most kids aren’t trying to skip or are trying to be late; there’s just a lot of kids who don’t try to move in the commons. I feel like it depends on the kid.”

Some students disagree with this assessment, however. Asmaou Sylla says, “Honestly? I don’t even think it’s that bad. Even if you take the time to sit there, talk to your friends, walk to your other classes, as long as you don’t take too long in the bathroom, it’s not hard to get to your class. Even if you get to your class by the warning bell. I think if you’re wasting a bit of time; you can still get to class right after the warning bell, so it’s okay.”

Lauren Jennings agrees that the policy is fair. “I don’t think it’s too strict because they’re preparing you for the real world. Jobs are not gonna be nice, they’re gonna fire you if you’re late too many times. The school is saying if you’re late you get ISS and you won’t be able to do certain things.”

Many teachers feel the policy is not harsh.

Social Studies teacher Mrs. Olson said, “I absolutely think the tardy policy is fair because it’s important to be on time, and that’s just a matter of respect. I grew up with a dad who is military and a mom who’s an educator, so I’m very much time oriented, so I’m never late, I’m always the first one here. So, for me, it’s a disrespect and a disruption when kids come in late. They’re missing things. And I do know as someone who does recommendations for kids for getting jobs at Publix or Chik-fil-A or Wendy’s on Roswell Road, the two questions they ask me is: do they follow dress code, because they care about uniforms there, and are they tardy. I don’t worry about the dress code too much, but I know that the tardy thing, they always want to know about that, so I know it matters.”

Ms. Mitchell of the Math department agrees. “No, I think it’s fine. It’s not always the student’s fault if they are late to school; that depends on the bus, it depends on the parents and all of that. But ten seems like a reasonable number, because I feel like the only way you could possibly be late to school is during the mornings. As for getting to class, you should be on time. And then if something happens, ten seems like a reasonable number to me, because you’re only in school for like, ninety days (as in how long the semester is), so ten percent of that time, you’re not there.”

The reasons for why teachers and students feel is varied. In conclusion, is up to you the individual to decide how the tardy policy affects you and how you feel about it. It is not going anywhere for the time being, so make sure you adhere to it, so it does not negatively affect you. But let your voice be known when the chance to change it does come up.