When planning a senior skip day most students worry about what to do, when to do it, how many absences they can spare… Something many students don’t consider is what the teachers think of their ditching school for a day.
Something that may surprise many student is the level of toleration a good deal of the teachers have when it comes to the well-known practice of senior skip day.
“The teacher in me doesn’t really like it but I skipped when I was a senior so I would be a hypocrite if I got too angry at my current students when they vacate for a day,” history and English teacher, Brent Chambers said.
Most teachers are fairly lenient when it comes to allowing their students to participate in Senior Skip Day because many of them remember how they thought as teenagers and some even participated back when they were in high school.
“Having been a teenager at one time I understand why at this stage in the school year [Senior Skip Day] feels like something all seniors have a right to. From that standpoint I’m not saying that I agree it’s a good idea but I can understand how seniors feel about it,” English teacher Mark Pickering said.
A good tactic students have adopted is informing their teachers early on about the date on which the senior skip day will take place.
“My students were really honest with me early on about the date and it allowed me to plan around it,” Chambers said. While it may be first instinct to try to keep the date from the teachers in order to avoid their wrath, it may be a better idea to keep them informed about what is going on. It is more likely that they will tolerate the skip day with little fuss when they know what’s going on than if they are kept completely in the dark.
Of course, teachers don’t necessarily encourage the idea of skipping school, but many can see that it is not a huge deal and as long as it is not consistent or repetitive, it is relatively harmless.
“While I don’t like that they’re missing a day of instruction I think we culturally don’t take enough time off to do the things we love so I have two different opinions about this: my professional opinion and my human opinion,” Chambers said.
One thing that should be considered before deciding to miss school for pleasure is what kind of work you will be missing.
“Regardless of the school day, whether it’s coordinated or not, students need to be prepared to make up the work that they miss for school,” assistant principal Matthew Samocki said.
It is important to understand that as the school year is coming to a close some students may not be in the condition to miss even a day of school.
“Not all seniors put themselves in the position where that one day doesn’t matter. Some seniors need that one day just to be able to pass and get credit,” Pickering said. It is important to be able to judge where you are in a class and how well you are doing before deciding to participate in Senior Skip Day.
Another important thing to consider is whether your absence will be excused or unexcused. In the case of unexcused absences students can really dig themselves into a hole which is not a good place to be right before graduation.
“According to the student handbook, an unexcused absence means that students may lose credit for assignments given or take the day of the unexcused absence,” Samocki said.
The viewpoint most teachers take when it comes to the subject of Senior Skip Day is that while it is better for students not to miss school they can understand where the students are coming from.
“Overall it is better for students to be in school than not in school,” Samocki said, but many teachers do not object too strongly to the idea as long as the student makes sure to leave themselves in good condition.
