Randall Denley: Points just for going to class? Ontario takes a sensible step

Ontario education minister Paul Calandra shown at a press conference. Photo by File /Postmedia

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Where are the parents? That’s the first question that arises in response to Ontario’s astonishingly large rate of school absenteeism. The provincial government expects students to show up for class 90 per cent of the time, which seems fairly lax. And yet, only 40 per cent of students meet that standard in secondary schools. In elementary schools it’s 55 per cent.

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It’s worrisome that so many students place so little value on education that they can’t be bothered to show up for school regularly. What’s worse is the number of parents who don’t see that as a problem they need to deal with.

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Surely one of a parent’s most important jobs is making sure their kids get to school every day, unless they are sick. One would think the parents of elementary school students would be motivated to do so for free childcare, if nothing else. If the parents are working, what are these truant students doing all day?

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Parental responsibility is even more important at the secondary level. Their children are moving toward young adulthood. That’s not the time to skip class. It’s the time to demonstrate the responsibility and reliability their adult lives will require, to socialize and interact with live people, not screens.

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That’s the message parents should be sending, but they are setting a bad example if they tolerate their children’s truancy, or worse, take them out of school for a family vacation.

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Not to mention that skipping class is incredibly disrespectful of teachers and makes a joke out of the $30.3 billion Ontario spends on public education, most of which goes to the cost of teachers and physical classrooms.

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Education Minister Paul Calandra has taken two sensible steps to deal with the attendance problem. Fifteen per cent of the marks for students in Grades 9 and 10 will be tied to attendance. In the two senior years, the number drops to 10 per cent.

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While it seems disconcerting to give students marks just for coming to school, apparently that’s a notable accomplishment. Why not reward people who show up to do the work? Typically, life does.

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Tip for the lazy student: come to class, these are the easiest marks you will ever get.

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It’s frequently suggested that low attendance is a pandemic hangover, but attendance was lousy before the pandemic, too. In 2017, only 60 per cent of high school students attended regularly. That’s better than the current 40 per cent, but it’s still bad.

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Bonus marks for regular attendees rather than punishment for those who don’t show up is also the kindest approach the minister could have taken.

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Some have criticized rewarding students who attend regularly as unfair to those who don’t. “Punitive” is the popular term. If they want to find out about punitive, they should be aware that provincial legislation allows fines of up to $1,000 for parents whose children repeatedly skip school.