Class attendance in institutions of higher learning is questionable to say the least. Schedules can interfere, uncommon instances can occur and teachers can be absent for whatever reason.
In college most professors like to profess the ideal virtue of regular attendance. They say that it is necessary and that class attendance in fact complements your ability to retain any of the material.
For many people, with off-the-wall schedules, it can become a tiresome habit of making it to class on time-despite the fact that three absences counts for a lowering of ones grade.
Regardless of the fact that we all have distractions that may interfere with our ability to get and stay in class, I believe that class attendance is a necessary component to maintaining and developing an understanding for the subject matter of your particular choosing.
To defend the over spoken truth about class attendance I will say that it is necessary for three reasons.
The first reason is credibility. Classes in college can begin as early as 8 a.m. and as late as 7 p.m. The time period in which classes are in session can range from 50 minutes to four hours. Any one involved with classes that can have uneven time lengths and odd hours have inadvertently made a commitment to the subject matter they are studying or teaching.
Many people don’t realize that if they, as students, don’t wish to be there then the teacher probably wishes the same. All parties involved are accountable for the time spent in these respective classes.
By showing up to class you basically show the teacher that you care enough to be there, even if all you do is turn on your computer, go on-line and tune out.
Credibility in respect to attendance is an issue of character, in terms of being both a student or teacher and an individual.
The second reason attendance is necessary is self satisfaction. Most students are institutionalized in that they go to school and to class, at least for the first few years of college, not knowing what it is they are doing there in the first place.
The basic truth about college life, and life in general, is that we are all on our own trip, taking the path that we felt was less traveled.
In order to truly appreciate a class is to experience it first hand in order retain the knowledge that was given for us to take, this means attendance is necessary.
Retention is key in the world of give and take, more take than give I suppose. It is better to know and understand than miss class and possibly miss out on some vital information that could one day save your academic life.
The third and most important reason for attending class is deadlines. From tests to car payments to getting to work on time, life continues to seem like a veritable cornucopia of deadlines.
By learning to meet these deadlines and getting through what has to be done you will learn to meet these deadlines in a faster and less painful way.
Coming to terms with the fact that there are certain things in life that just have to be done is a personal sacrifice that we all have to make.
Tedious requirements such as getting to class at eight in the morning or at 10 at night for extended lengths of time will allow you, as a person, to learn and deal with these types of sacrifices.
Final summation in regards to regular class attendance is that there is an obvious reason that professors require students to come to class, even if the professors themselves do not. That reason is knowledge.
Going to class and being part of this active learning environment is necessary for the professor and the student in that the connection that is made is invaluable and inevitable complements the students ability to retain and put to use the bits and pieces of knowledge they have gathered.
