Morgan FischerHarper English 10Persuasive PaperSchool Absences or Finals Strikes?A study showed that 68.2% of children enrolled in extracurricular activities plan to earn a bachelor's degree or higher (" Extracurricular participation » 1). This is 20% more than children who do not participate in extracurricular activities. There is a 19.8% difference, in favor of children enrolled in extracurricular activities, among students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher ("Extracurricular Participation" 1). So why are good kids punished if they miss too many days of extracurricular activities? Children who participate in many school-related events tend to miss a lot of school. At Century High School, students are only allowed to miss 10 days for school-related events before having to take the semester final. This rule should not be in place. The school encourages children to participate in extracurricular activities, but then charges them in the long run. Students should be allowed to be absent for more than ten days for extracurricular events. Administrators may disagree with this idea. They think that children would simply participate in extracurricular activities for fun. Furthermore, they consider that more members means more money for the clubs. The main reason for this policy is that it is not fair to children who do not take extracurricular classes, the administration considers that ten days is too much. Students may only miss 10 class periods of a certain class for school-related absences before being required to attend the semester. final in this class (Century Student 35). Students have the opportunity to “buy back” their time. However, they can only do this after reaching 10 and must spend 50 minutes before or after school in that class. Most sports students will miss the last 3 periods, so to make up that time they should come in for 150 minutes. Not only on their time, but also on their subject...... middle of paper ...... students who are in a CE should constantly check their grades, so that they know where they stand. If they know their grade, they will do better. It is the students' choice to miss school for an event, so it is their responsibility to make up what they missed. Here are some simple ways active students can do this: take the initiative to ask if they need help, get organized (Meredith 1), and stay involved with their classmates, teachers, and peers. These simple things can have a big impact on any child's learning environment. Let kids be themselves and explore, let them be leaders and influence the community, let them be responsible for their grades. Let children miss more than ten days of school. In the long run, extracurricular activities prepare adolescents for the future. After all; the school aims to help students grow, so why hold them back?