Administation and staff respond to increase of students being called out

When social studies instructor Otis Seals was a student at Westside, he had no other option but to do his best when he showed up unprepared on test days. Yet times have changed and more frequently than ever, students are dodging major exams, presentation days and turning in projects that are way past due by having their parents repeatedly call them out of classes. Not only Seals, but many teachers have taken note of this pattern that, while it’s not something new, is continuing to be a growing problem, especially among honors students and upperclassmen.

While Dean Kim Eymann primarily deals with students who are unexcused from classes, she acknowledges that students have made this a reoccurring pattern. However, administration is typically unable to monitor this behavior because there is no way for them to be aware of the problem unless a teacher approaches them about a particular student.

“If kids are called out and excused, I don’t know what they’re missing in that class,” Eymann said. “Unless a teacher brings it to my attention that a student has been called out every test day, then we’re not going to know.”

While most students find such behavior harmless and in many cases, even beneficial to their grades, their actions result in more work for teachers, missing class time and ultimately students aren’t taught how to take responsibility for their actions.

“Having your kid called out because they don’t have their work done is teaching them that they don’t have to be responsible and that you’re going to solve all their problems for them,” Seals said. “No matter where you go after high school, whether it be college, a job or the military, that’s not going to work.”

While the problem seems to be growing, administration doesn’t plan to propose a solution to the issue anytime soon. Even though the administration or school board could create a stricter policy for student attendance, Seals knows students will still find a way to beat the system.

“I don’t think there’s a big fix to the issue,” Seals said, “Fixing [the problem] starts with students and parents valuing education.”