SKIPPING CLASS INTRODUCTION

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1 STAY ON TARGET, REFOCUS BEHAVIOR INTRODUCTION This Behavior Learning Packet consists of text and questions for Student Response. The text explores a particular behavior, provides two stories about students who violated a rule or expectation, explains the consequences, and suggests ways of setting goals and refocusing behavior. The Student Response asks questions about why it s wrong to break a school rule, what the students in the stories did that got them into trouble, and how you might reflect on your actions to have a more positive outcome going forward. HOW TO DO THE ASSIGNMENT As you read the text and answer the questions, think about what you did and why you did it. When you finish reading the text, write answers to the questions on the Response form. SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS Skipping class is against school rules. Students are expected to attend each class on their schedule. When they don t, they not only show they are not responsible, but they also lose out on learning. It is important that you take advantage of all the learning opportunities that are offered you. This means that you must attend all of your classes. When you skip class you miss out on what is taught and you fall behind. It is easier to be successful if you keep up with what is being taught. Why make getting an education more difficult for yourself?

2 REASONS WHY STUDENTS SKIP THEIR CLASSES There are many reasons why students intentionally miss their classes. Some of these reasons are listed here: 1. Leaving campus to meet friends 2. Skipping a morning class to study for a test to be given in an afternoon class 3. Missing a class because you haven t finished an assignment 4. Skipping class to avoid seeing someone you aren t getting along with The most serious reason for missing class, however, is having a bad attitude toward school. You can tell who these students are when they say things like school sucks, I just hate it. They become self-defeated, and often give up on school. No matter what your reason for missing a class, you don t help yourself by being absent. Students do best in school when they attend all of their classes and take part in the learning. KITTIE FORGETS SHE S ONLY FOURTEEN Kittie is growing up too fast. When she was in fourth grade, she was beginning to wear eye shadow and lipstick. By the time she entered middle school, she was hanging around high school students. Now, as a freshman, she has a steady boyfriend. Unfortunately, her boyfriend Keith is five years older and attends trade school. Keith is not a good influence on Kittie. Keith gets out of school at 2:30 in the afternoon. Kittie gets out an hour later. It is not unusual for Keith to talk Kittie into skipping her last period math class. They meet a block from the high school at a fast food restaurant. After having something to eat, they get into Keith s car and go for a ride. Keith drops her off a block from home and Kittie walks in her house as if the bus had dropped her off at her normal stop. Her parents never suspect anything is wrong. It wasn t long before Kittie s grade in math began to drop. Her grade notification reported Kittie has missed 9 classes this quarter and her current grade is a D. Kittie seems to have other things on her mind instead of math.

3 Kittie s parents asked for a conference with her teacher so they could get to the bottom of the issue. Kittie will be required to attend the conference. Do you think Kittie s teachers and parents will get her to realize where she is going wrong? LORA S AND DENISE S EXCUSE GOES UP IN SMOKE Lora and Denise are best friends. They do everything together. They shop together, they walk to school together, they eat lunch together and even spend their weekends together. People who don t know Lora and Denise very well think they are sisters. This semester, Lora and Denise have several of the same classes. Both are good students so learning comes easy for them. In fact, Lora has been on the honor roll since she has been in school and Denise has never gotten a grade below a B. Lora and Denise have decided to try something new in their lives to experiment with vaping. Their parents have preached to them since they were small children about the harmful effects of cigarettes. But Lora and Denise decide to try, after all, everyone is doing it. As they walk to school they vape. It wasn t long before they both developed a habit. It became difficult for Lora and Denise to make it through the school day without nicotine. One day Lora said, Denise, let s skip our fifth period class today, I need a hit. Our English teacher won t catch on if we forge a pass from the Dean. Fifth period came and Denise and Lora walked into their history class and gave their English teacher a forged pass from the Dean. The pass gave the girls permission to leave class and report to the library. Their teacher gave the girls permission to leave. The girls took a few steps down the hall and walked out the nearest exit. They then ran to the back of the school and vaped the entire period. They thought they got away with it until they entered their sixth period classes. Their English teacher was waiting for them. What Lora and Denise didn t realize is that their teacher had taken his fifth period class to the library to do some research and when he didn t see them he knew something was wrong. Now the girls have to explain where they have been.

4 JAMAL GAMBLES AND LOSES Jamal could never keep himself organized. As the old saying goes, Jamal was always a day late and a dollar short. If you wanted Jamal to be on time to a movie, you had to tell him the movie started a half-hour earlier than it really did. Unfortunately for Jamal, his bad habit of never being on time was hurting his grades. If a report was due on Monday, it wasn t turned in until Friday. All of Jamal s teachers had warned him they would accept no more late papers. A big project on air pollution was due in Mr. Hinkle s science class on Friday. Unfortunately, it was now Wednesday and Jamal hadn t even started it. This made Jamal nervous, especially since Mr. Hinkle warned him not to be late with work again. Friday came and Jamal was only half finished with his project. Jamal thought it would be best if he skipped Mr. Hinkle s class and spend the period in the library working on his project. Unfortunately, the librarian asked Jamal if he had permission to be in the library. He said, yes, but I lost my pass. When the librarian checked with Mr. Hinkle, she learned the truth and Jamal earned a zero on his project. Jamal is now serving a detention. CONSEQUENCES OF CUTTING CLASSES There are only negative results when a student skips a class. Students who intentionally miss class lose out on learning. Whatever happened in class is lost. If there was a discussion, you missed it. If there was a quiz or test, you may have failed it or have to spend more time making it up. If the teacher demonstrated how to do a lab experiment or work a math problem, you now lack needed information. In addition to missing out on class work, you may have lowered your grade. Many teachers count attendance as part of your grade. If this is the case, you lost points. Why make getting a good grade more difficult for yourself? Does a student s reputation improve by skipping class? Absolutely not! When you skip a class, you are sending a message to your teacher. You are saying that attending class isn t that important to you and that you can afford to miss it. You are also saying loud and clear that you can t be relied upon to do what is right. Are these the messages you want to give others? Another consequence of skipping class is the forming of bad habits. If you were to ask a dropout if he ever cut class before, you would most likely find out that he started on the road to dropping out by skipping classes. One missed class leads to another and another and finally

5 the student quits school all together. Skipping class is something you should take seriously. Don t start a bad habit. HOW TO AVOID SKIPPING A CLASS To prevent the consequences noted above, you need to attend every class on your schedule. This may require a change in attitude on your part. If you don t view class attendance as important, then you need to adjust your outlook about school. As you read earlier, if a person gets in the habit of skipping class grades will suffer, and he will run the risk of becoming a dropout. A healthy attitude toward learning will help prevent these problems. Attending every class will give you a chance of getting good grades. This in turn will give you more opportunities. If you have a good attitude toward school, but miss a class to study for another, then you need to look at how you organize your time. Are you spending too much time socializing or watching television? Think about ways you can spend more time studying and less time making excuses. Cutting class can be prevented. View your responsibilities seriously, and do the things that will help you get ahead instead of falling behind. SETTING GOALS Students who have goals do best at school. A goal is your plan to improve something in your life. Why not make attending all of your classes one of your goals? If you do, you probably won t have issues being successful in school. A good goal for Jamal might be: I will have all projects done a day before the due date. What would be a good goal for you so that skipping class never causes you issues again?

6 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 1 NAME: DATE: WHAT TO DO Answering the following questions will help you understand why you are here today and help you reflect on how you may redirect your actions for a more positive outcome. Although your answers are not graded, your teacher, a counselor, the principal, or your parents/guardian may read what you have written. As you write your answers, be honest with yourself about what you did and why. Honesty in writing your answers reflects your willing ness to refocus your behavior and attitude. Start your answers in the spaces below the questions, continue on your own paper. Be neat, spell correctly, use good grammar, and write in complete sentences. If we can t read what you write, you may be asked to do the packet over again. 1. What class or classes did you skip and why? 2. Give an estimate of your current grade in the class or classes you skipped.

7 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 1 3. Explain how skipping class can lower grades. Also give other consequences of skipping class. 4. Why is Kittie cutting her class? 5. Write a goal for Kittie to help her realize the importance of attending all of her classes. 6. If you were the owner of sporting goods store and one of your employees skipped work one day, what would you do? Explain how you would handle the problem if it was the first time the employee missed work. Then explain what you would do if it was the third time.

8 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 1 7. Why do teachers feel it is important for students to attend all classes? 8. Explain how skipping classes can become a bad habit and how it can effect a student s future. 9. How could you have prevented yourself from skipping class in the first place? 10. Write a goal that will help you avoid skipping classes again.

9 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 2 NAME: DATE: WHAT TO DO Answering the following questions will help you understand why you are here today and help you reflect on how you may redirect your actions for a more positive outcome. Although your answers are not graded, your teacher, a counselor, the principal, or your parents/guardian may read what you have written. As you write your answers, be honest with yourself about what you did and why. Honesty in writing your answers reflects your willing ness to refocus your behavior and attitude. Start your answers in the spaces below the questions, continue on your own paper. Be neat, spell correctly, use good grammar, and write in complete sentences. If we can t read what you write, you may be asked to do the packet over again. 1. Explain why you skipped your class or classes. 2. Tell why you agree or disagree with the following statement: If one is to succeed in life, he first must meet all of his obligations.

10 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 2 3. Why did Lora and Denise skip their English class? 4. How did they get excused from class? 5. Give as many reasons as you can why students skip class. 6. For each reason in question number five, explain why the reason is a poor choice.

11 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET 2 7. List several goals that most students have about school. Then explain how attending all of one s classes can help a person reach those goals. 8. Explain why doctors, fire fighters, and police officers can t skip out of work early, come in late, or pick and choose those they want to help. 9. Pretend you are a teacher whose job it is to explain to a group of new students why attending all of their classes is important. What would you say to persuade them? 10. Write a goal that will help you attend all of your classes regularly.