Skipping School: Is it Worth it or Not? | Teen Ink

Skipping School: Is it Worth it or Not?

June 4, 2011
By ebj.2014 PLATINUM, St. John, Washington
ebj.2014 PLATINUM, St. John, Washington
21 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Just taking one day off from school can affect your entire life. Even though you may feel too tired to go, or you don’t feel like taking a test, putting school off gets you nowhere. According to a recent survey, approximately 63,000 kids skip school each day. Why are so many choosing not to go? Maybe it’s because they only see the positive outcomes of it. In contrast, in this paper I will explain the negative effects skipping school can have on a kid’s life.

Most people don’t like doing make-up work because it puts them behind everyone else. However, others may think it’s easier to miss any lectures or videos, and just get to the assignment. Little do those people know how much it affects their assignment and test grades. At a school in Ohio, 50 students of the same age and GPA were put into a class that none of them knew anything about. Some were told to miss around 20% of the class periods, others were permitted to miss one lecture, and the third group couldn’t miss anything. At the class final, the students who attended class every day passed by a large margin, and it went downhill from there. Think of it like this: for every day of school you skip, that’s one percent your grade can go down.

Not only can skipping school have a toll on your academics, but it can damage your personal life, too. Some activities that students take part in while they are skipping class can be deadly. Studies have shown that kids can become involved in drugs, alcohol, gangs, vandalism and more, of which none result in a positive outcome. For instance, in Florida two years ago, three high school students decided to skip the last day of school and go down to the beach. On their way, they were in a car accident and all were killed. Going through one more day of school could have saved their lives.

Skipping school determines your everyday life but has just as big of an impact on your future. Missing important lessons on school can lead to missing questions on major tests like the HSPE or SAT/ACT. Also, being involved in some of the activities I listed above while skipping school can lead to suspension, expulsion, or even jail. Going to school will keep you safer and makes your resume and future applications look much better.

In brief, skipping school has more negative than positive sides. Teachers and students should not allow anyone to miss out on school and then come back with no consequences. There should be a certain number of “sick days” that a person is allowed before suspension or possible expulsion comes into place. In my opinion, it should be school every day or no school at all. Whatever one you choose is your decision, but consider your future before you turn off the alarm clock.


The author's comments:
I've never understood why people skip school, so I wrote this, hoping to explain to those people why it bothers me. I hope you all enjoy it!

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This article has 7 comments.


S995104 said...
on Sep. 15 2023 at 8:06 pm
S995104, Katy, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I was skipping classes for a while and I am just know realizing that it’s the worst mistake I made in high school I been held back twice because of it and I’m just tired of it I’m really just trying to get back on track and finish high school

on Feb. 22 2016 at 11:31 pm
I skip school all the time. My parents haven't even found out yet, how cool is that? You can skip school, just make sure you do your absent work. And if you get in trouble, so what, it will teach you how not to get caught. Life is boring when you do what your told 24/7.

lovve said...
on Feb. 13 2013 at 2:40 pm
skipping school is really bad

on Jun. 23 2012 at 11:53 pm
ebj.2014 PLATINUM, St. John, Washington
21 articles 0 photos 49 comments
Ohhh wow. It seems like there are kids like that in every school. :/ Don't they drive you crazy?! But thanks so much for checking this out! :)

KatsK DIAMOND said...
on Jun. 5 2012 at 3:34 pm
KatsK DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
57 articles 0 photos 301 comments

Favorite Quote:
Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.
~Hans Hofmann
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury

Two of the kids from my class (of 50) didn't come to school, and the secretary called home, and the parents got mad. They slinked back to school right in the middle of class, and they got suspended (which is ironic; I had just read an article about why you shouldn't suspend people, because it doesn't do any good) as well as getting all of their electronics taken away. I was struck by their stupidity. Good job on this, though. I'd send it to them, but they're too busy watching TV and feeling superior to read. They also bragged about using Sparknotes for English, though, so that gives you an indication of what they think about school in general.

on Nov. 30 2011 at 10:40 pm
ebj.2014 PLATINUM, St. John, Washington
21 articles 0 photos 49 comments
Good point! Thanks for checking this out! :)

julian GOLD said...
on Jul. 16 2011 at 1:17 pm
julian GOLD, Eugene, Oregon
17 articles 17 photos 223 comments

Favorite Quote:
The goal is not about living forever, the goal is about creating something that can.

Skipping school is a bad thing to do, but if you're sick or something, that can't be helped! Don't come to school if you're sick! You'll just get worse, and get other people sick as well. So instead of having a limited number of sick days, you should just have to get parental permission to skip school. That's my opinion. But your article is really well written. It flows well, and you provide some really strong examples to support it, so good job!