Raise Your Hand if You're Absent

In unit 2 of A Nation's Argument we learned more about the strengths and flaws of an argument, and studied the U.S. Constitution, the purpose for it and its relation to the Declaration of Independence. We focused on the Judicial Branch and the decision of the Supreme Court case "Scott vs Sandford" (1857). From this we looked at the amendments that are in the U.S. Constitution which then brought us to our second action project, creating an amendment to the GCE Code of Conduct. I chose to revise a section of the absence policy because being young adults we have the ability to speak for ourselves without information being relayed through a parent or guardian. I liked this project because it gave us the freedom to make a change where we saw fit, but i also found it difficult to choose between the areas in which i felt passionate. Please enjoy my proposed absence policy below.

I would like to address an amendment from the GCE Student Code of Conduct: "Absences". The current rule of the Absence policy is "A parent or guardian is expected to communicate with GCE Lab School as soon as possible when a student is going to be absent."

This rule is unjust because as high school students we should be in control of informing the school of our absence without the need of parents or guardians. In a short four years most of us will be either in college or the working world where it is your responsibility to inform those in charge, and it is their fault not the parents or guardians.

The formal argument of the Absence policy is:

P1: Students are absent sometimes.

P2: When a student is absent the school must be notified.

P3: A parent or guardian must inform the school because students are minors.

C: Parents or guardians are expected to inform the school of a students absence.

Now, I understand that most high school students are still minors, but it feels like in this case we are being treated more like elementary students. With four years left until adulthood and the working world we need to be prepared to take on the responsibility of informing others of our absence, among other things. Also being in a school like GCE, where we are specifically taught how to be responsible, hard-working adults, this part of the absence policy contradicts the core values.

The formal argument of my proposed Absence policy is:

P1: GCE's core values are purpose, gratitude, achievement and autonomy.

P2: GCE prepares students for college life and the real world.

P3: Sometimes students will be absent from school.

P4: In the "real world" people who are absent from work/college do not need parents to inform their supervisors/instructors.

C: GCE students should be allowed to inform the school of their absences themselves.

"Emotional States While on a Phone"(2011) GETTY

The picture above shows the frustration of being on the phone and being put on hold or arguing their point with the person on the other end who just won't listen. This relates perfectly to my argument on how a student is being ignored when they call in their own absence. Below is an example of this feeling of frustration.

Imagine you work for a big time company and have a break through idea, you email your boss this idea but his response is to have your supervisor email it to him because you are too new to the company. How would you feel to be apart of this company and not have your opinions valued due to being new; it is the same way students feel when they call in sick and are told that a parent or guardian still needs to inform the school even though they already know.

Students will feel more in control of their lives and therefore feel more relaxed both in and out of school. School is generally a place where students have no control in the teacher dictates what your suppose to do so to have a little control in this environment gives a sense of piece, and most of the time confidence. With this confidence students will become more focused both in and out of school. I talked to a fellow peer and cosigner, JR, about my proposed amendment on the Absence policy in the Code of Conduct to which they agreed stating, "If you miss it's your responsibility to make up the work and keep up with the class."

If viewed on the larger U.S. Constitution scale, my amendment mostly relates to that of the first amendment in the case that our freedom of speech is being violated. Being that this is the first amendment in the U.S. Constitution it should be important to make sure that right is respected across all boundaries in the United States, even in student-teacher relationships. This shows true citizenship because equality all American citizens have despite differences.