Saturday School Vs Community Serive

Have you ever felt ashamed when you’re sitting in the cafeteria next to people with their heads down, or standing outside working on your Saturday morning while people stare and wonder what you have done to deserve this?

 

I have, and there have been so many people that have been through this and feel like their punishment is too unfair, too unjust and a waste of time. The cause of this punishment is being tardy to class. It does not matter if you are seconds or minutes late, you will still be punished. I assume the bright side of this is that they give you a choice, which is Saturday school or community service. “I think is fair that they let you decide which one,” Said Senior Courtney Solimine, “but I don’t think either of those are really that necessary for something as simple as being tardy.” Solimine thinks that Akins has gone too far in its desperation for attendance clean up. “Saturday School should have never been an option for being tardy. Maybe for those who are constantly tardy,” said Solimine, “but it’s not fair to those who usually make it to class. We all have off days.” Some are lucky and do not get a tardy slip, one of those people is Sophomore Ivon Castillo, who has never been assign to community service or Saturday school. “Even though I might be a little late to class where I am right at the door and the bell rings,” Castillo said, “my teachers are cool like that and let me inside.”

 

The point is that students find it useless and stupid because most of them, who get a tardy slip while the sweep is in effect, are forced community service or Saturday school even though it might be their first offence. Students do not want to go home and tell their parents that they have to drive them to school before 9 in the morning on Saturday all because of a tardy, and if you don’t go, you can get suspended. However, how would your parents feel when you tell them that you have Community service, and again, all because of a tardy in school. “My dad would flip,” Freshman Morgan Longoria-Scully said, “he would think the school is stupid.” But is Community service really a good alternative for Saturday School? How about going old school and just serve after school detention? “I don’t think after school detention would work much better than Saturday School,” Solimine said,” If they won’t go to one, they most likely won’t go to the other.” Even though community service gives you something to do, makes you walk around and get interactive with people. Some students like Longoria-Scully said that she would rather just get over with it in the three hours in the cafeteria then walking around and looking for hours at school.

 

I’m sure that Akins is thinking this is a good idea and will mention it to other Austin ISD schools and try to make them perform a Tardy Sweep. Will it change the attendance of students in their classes for the whole AISD? Or will it back fire and make students not want to go to school or just get out of the district? Solimine and other students as well do not believe that other schools would adopt this method because the board knows how ridiculous and unnecessary it is. However, is up to you to get to class on time, so they can stop this nonsense, and when they do, you can start to be tardy again without unfair punishment.