Pham Tan Tai

Tesol 10

SHOULD NOT PENALIZE STUDENTS WHO MISS

CLASSES

Class attendance policy is one of the ways to encourage students

to come to class regularly to gain useful knowledge. To avoid missing
classes, teachers will apply penalization to. However, will students
come to class more often and study better after applying penalty? As a
teacher, I totally disagree with applying penalization of students
missing class because that can make students discouraged of
studying, limit students freedom, as well as leads them to social evils.
Firstly, students can be discouraged or lost face when being
punished. In fact, students usually feel ashamed of penalization and
they then do not want to come to class again. Instead of being
penalized, students should be encouraged to attend class and they
would participate regularly if teachers explain clearly the usefulness of
class attendance like getting more knowledge and not missing
important lessons. Griffin, a student from DePaul University stated that
whether professors had attendance requirements or not, she tries to
regularly attend her classes to learn from the lectures.

Secondly, penalizing students skipping classes may limit their

right of freedom because missing classes is the right of students in
some acceptable situations. They can decide to study or miss classes
when realizing that period is not necessary or in some urgent
situations like funerals or wedding of their relatives. Professor Kelli
Marshall teaches media and film classes at DePaul University and does
not implement a mandatory attendance policy. She gives her students
the opportunity to earn participation points via weekly quizzes and
discussion questions. Additionally, As students paying to enroll in
these courses, the attendance should be up to us and not roped into
course grading in any way shape or form Artley said.
Thirdly, students feel discouraged from being punished of
truancy, thus, they decide to stay outside world and are influenced by
social evils. Truly, the ideal hands are the devil workshop and students
can get together with criminal people to rob, steal, gamble, or use
drug. With using the penalty, teacher indirectly makes students future
life gloomy.
Some of educators express that penalization should be used in
school to help students become good graders and that partly effects
on some situations. Teacher, however, should not use penalization as

main regulations to force students to attend class. Artley once again

said punishment by grading with ten to twenty percent of students
score coming from attendance is a poor judgment of an individuals
competence in the course.
In conclusion, penalization is not an effective way of encourage
students attending classes regularly because of discouraging students
studying, limiting students freedom and especially indirectly leading
them to social evils. Therefore, teachers should think of other policies
to enhance students attendance in class.

References
http://college.usatoday.com/2012/03/25/should-class-attendance-bemandatory-students-professors-say-no/