Detention Drama

The Truth Behind Our Infamous Detention Policy

Detention Drama

Kate Suggs

Your alarm doesn’t go off, you leave your backpack in the library or you get stuck in traffic. The story doesn’t matter. No matter the reason for your tardy, your fate is sealed. You have earned yourself an hour in the detention office.

The detention policy at Rocklin High School is one of the most controversial policies in the school rulebook. Detentions can be given for a variety of offences, from cellphone use to interrupting class. However, the most common reason to receive a detention is by being tardy.

Many students have ran into class just a few seconds late, earning only a tardy slip for their race against the bell. Because they have missed 10 seconds of the teacher walking to the front of the class, they must spend 1 hour in the detention room before or after school. Ask any student who has gone through this what they think about the detention rule, and you will listen to a long rant about how unfair the policy is.

But is it really unfair?

On the surface, the tardy policy at RHS seems a bit overkill. As someone who has received a detention because I walked into class five seconds late, I understand the anger that every student feels. However, by looking closer at the Rocklin High School Handbook and thinking a bit deeper, the current tardy policy is both fair and effective, despite its outward appearance.

So why is there a detention policy after all? The RHS Student Handbook says, “Students are expected to be in class on time daily in order to receive maximum benefits from the instructional program.” In other words, you have to come to class in order to learn. This detention policy helps keep students on academic track by providing a punishment for missing school.

Once you receive a detention, you can serve it Monday through Friday afternoons, as well as on Thursday mornings. If you fail to serve detention in the time allowed, you risk receiving Saturday school or on-campus suspension. You may also not be allowed to participate in extracurriculars like sports or clubs.

For some students, staying after school poses no real problem, other than the occasional appointment or plans with family and friends. However, students in clubs or sports have practices to schedule around. Sure, they can just skip practice, but missing practice can cost them a starting position in a game or valuable practice time. In sports like football, attendance is a priority.

This is where Thursday morning detention comes in. By coming to school at 6:45 in the morning, a student-athlete can both serve their detention and make it to practice in the afternoon. Though inconvenient, it avoids missing practice and possibly game time.

One frustration for many students is how someone who comes to class 10 seconds late gets the same punishment as another who comes to class 10 minutes late. According to the handbook, if a student is less than 30 minutes late to class, they receive a one hour detention. If they are not in class after 30 minutes, they are considered absent.

Of course, people who come to class several minutes late deserve detention. They are clearly not “in class on time daily” and therefore cannot “receive maximum benefits from the instructional program” as required by the school’s rules. However, there appears to be a bit of grey area when it comes to being less than a minute late.

In the first minute of class, some teachers haven’t even begun their lesson, and the ones that have begun have not taught very much. In fact, students are missing more class by walking down to the attendance office than they would if they just joined class.

These are good arguments, and they are true. However, the reason for this policy comes down to one thing: helping teachers do their job.

Teachers also have to worry about students being late. Their job is to teach their students and have them learn as much as they can from class. When it comes to students arriving late to class, teachers have different policies. Some see it as a distracting interruption and make their students get a tardy slip, while others allow students to silently sit down while continuing their lesson.

Asking a teacher to excuse any students that are less than one minute late would cause a whole new problem. Teachers would have to check what time it is and then tell the student what to do, which clearly interrupts class. By letting teachers stick with the policy that works best for their class, efficiency is increased and students can learn more.

As well as helping teachers, this policy aides  students in learning more from their classroom experience, which is why we spend seven hours a day on campus. If we let people show up late to class, it is a violation of the purpose of school as well as a waste of tax dollars.

When it comes to the punishment, detention is very effective. Sure, some people continue to be late after their first offence, but nobody wants to spend their afternoon in the office. If the punishment were shortened or eliminated, it would not be as effective and would not help enforce school rules.

All in all, the detention policy at Rocklin High School may be inconvenient and harsh, but it was created in the best interest of both students and teachers. Students may enjoy a more lenient policy, but it would have detrimental effects on the learning environment at RHS. After all, the bell rings for a reason.

So next time you walk into class late and receive a detention, feel free to be frustrated. Getting a one hour detention is nobody’s idea of fun. However, remember that this policy is in place for a reason, one that will, overall, make you a better person.