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Schools

Do I Dare Ditch?

A DHS senior writes about "Senior Ditch Day" and the difficult decision of whether or not to participate.

Editor's Note: This article was written on Sunday, the day before senior ditch day. It was held until Monday so Patch columnist Jacob Perlson could take advantage of his decision one way or the other.  

I’m telling myself that I haven’t made up my mind yet. It could go either way. I might go to school tomorrow; I might not. Realistically, I won’t be going. When my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow morning, I really don’t see myself saying at this point in my high school career, “Ah, what a glorious day! Let’s go to school!” 

But I don’t know that for sure and I’ve prepared for both possible outcomes in my indecision. I have most of my homework done and some tentative plans made for if/when I decide I’m ditching. It’s really a difficult choice to make, and there is no clear winner of the debate going on in my head.

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On one hand, I’m still a high school student with plenty to worry about before graduation. Every class I miss could be the difference between a ‘4’ and a ‘5’ on an AP test. Making up work is oftentimes a bigger pain than doing it. Not to mention, I’m expected at school. I have an obligation to be there as a gym leader and section leader in orchestra. Especially tomorrow when we’re rehearsing solely in sections, I feel it’s even more important I’m there. Yes, it’s only one day and yes, I know I’m only a fraction as important as I make myself seem in this paragraph. Still, my decision and everyone’s decisions affect more than just the individual. 

On the other hand, what’s one day in the grand scheme of things? What will this single day be in just a few weeks? This was the insight of one of my teachers who heard a rumor about “Senior Ditch Day” and addressed it. In his eyes, the worst thing to do would not be to ditch school. It would be to ditch school, sleep until noon, and then watch crappy TV. 

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For “Senior Ditch Day” to be worth it, the senior must ditch with a purpose. They should do something special. If ditching is a form of rebellion, then rebel with a cause, not just for the sake of it. And if one decides that ditching makes sense, he or she should own their decision and embrace the consequences. That is, be ready to take the 3% grade reduction that teachers have the power to impose at their discretion when an unexcused absence comes up. 

Another teacher joked that he would take 6% off his students’ grades on one condition: the student gets called out by their parents. My teacher agreed that is certainly not the right way to go about ditching school. Getting called out sends a message of a lack of conviction. It says, “I want this, but I am not willing to accept everything that goes along with it.” It involves the parents in what should be the student’s decision. I believe this is wrong. Or at least now I do. Honestly, it didn’t make much of a difference to me last week. Now, I want to ditch the right way. 

I’m ditching. I guess I just decided. It’s getting late now and I’d like to finish this article, go to sleep, and wake up to day four of a three-day weekend. But there’s one problem… my parents called me out.

Last week I told them I wanted to ditch and asked them to call me out. (What was I thinking?) Since then, I started wondering if I really wanted to ditch. I decided if I did, I would not want to be called out. Earlier today I asked my parents to call the attendance office once more and tell them I would be in school on Monday. That way, I could ditch the right way or attend school like it was any other day. Like any responsible parents, they said absolutely not. 

I explained that I wasn’t even sure I wanted to ditch, but if I decided I did, I wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite. But they weren’t going to potentially lie for a newly developed value of mine. Moreover, they weren’t too excited about me potentially losing 3%. I think that’s fair. My parents called me out earlier and it’s unreasonable to expect them to undo their actions just because my mind changed. I’m called out and there’s nothing I can do about it except say this: 

If any of my teachers are reading this, I won’t be in school today because I’m ditching. Don’t let the attendance record fool you. It says I’m excused from class because my parents believed that was the right thing to do, and I used to as well. I honestly can’t blame them, and I’m not trying to undermine them when I say there isn’t actually a phenomenal excuse for my absence. I’m not visiting UW-Madison or at a full-day doctor’s appointment. I’ll probably be in downtown Chicago with a bunch of friends despite the weather, hanging out in a park or walking around. Please treat my absence as such. I’ll be in class Tuesday ready to go.

With respect and sincerity,

Jacob Perlson

With that, I have made my peace with “Senior Ditch Day.” That was surprisingly difficult.  

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