If students accrue eight tardies in a class, they will be referred to lunch detention. Is this a fair punishment?
“Tardies are a disruption to the learning environment and will be handled as a disciplinary matter” as stated in the LSHS student handbook.
All students at LSHS have signed a form saying that they have read and understood the student handbook, so these rules shouldn’t come as a surprise. When a student is late to class, it creates distractions for the students and might stop the teacher from being able to teach their lesson momentarily. It not only affects the student, but also affects the rest of the class. This is why it requires punishment because students are not only hurting themselves, but the rest of the class too.
“I was late junior year for like a week straight, and they gave me lunch detention. The most brutal boring thing ever, so I started getting to school on time. I think it was fair because being late to the first period for a week is lowkey outrageous,” senior Javon McFerrin said.
The punishment for being tardy helped McFerrin because it made him realize that what he was doing was wrong. It is not ok to be late to first period every day of the week.
A student who misses 10 days or more during a school year is 20 percent less likely to graduate from high school, says the student handbook. This is why being present is so important to academic success and why the administration punish students who don’t comply with it.
“If you’re late to every class, you should get lunch detention,” senior Troy Valentine stated.
The tardy rule may seem unfair, but it isn’t meant to hurt students. It is meant to help students classmates learn and work towards graduating. Make it to school earlier and walk a little faster during passing periods in order to make it to class before those bells ring.
