BY COLLIN DYSART

Assistant Scene Editor

I survived high school by fantasizing about how different life would be in college. I wouldn’t have to be home at a specific time, take P.E. at 8 a.m. and I could eat in class. I was especially thrilled that words such as “tardy” and “unexcused absences” would not be something my instructors would throw around threateningly. As fate would have it, my hopes were dashed.

A defining aspect of the college experience is that one chooses to attend. Every class I enroll in, every time I plop down in my seat, it is of my own free will and volition. After all, I am paying out of my own pocket; driving myself into the deep dark abyss of loan debt. So, why are my instructors, by and large taking attendance? Why is my collegiate future partially defined by merit of me as a warm body in a classroom?

Over and over my parents drilled into my head, when I complained about attending high school under threat of truancy, that the reality of college was different. I could slip in and out of class when I wanted. My teachers did not care if I was there. In fact, if I passed or failed was not really a concern. Whether I sank or swam was my own business.

Sadly, for the majority of my college classes this has not been the case. Syllabus day usually is accompanied by a warning: if you miss x amount of days, your grade will drop like a stone. Come again?

I am not entirely sure how my butt being in a seat is entirely conducive to my academic success. Granted there are exceptions to this. For a P.E. class, lab or theatre class, you do need to be present, because you can’t do those specific activities on your own time.

But, if I am in a literature or math class and I am confident I already understand a particular component, I see no reason for me to attend. I will be able to demonstrate my skill when it comes to time to put pen to paper or take an exam.

I still support teachers grading for participation. What I do not support is earning my participation solely on a knee-jerk reaction to my name with an audible, “here.” Participation entails a contribution to the class beyond showing up.

It means putting your iPhone away and engaging your instructor. It means taking the material seriously, or at least pulling off a act of BS.

I have noticed a pattern among my instructors who are remarkably fixated on attendance in their grading, and it is their ego. He or she is not satisfied unless there is a captive audience. I feel there is a deep-rooted insecurity within the instructor. He or she is afraid the students may be able to grasp the material on their own.

And what is wrong with that? We all have to be responsible for our learning in the end.

Perhaps, a student learns in a different manner than the teacher’s style. If the student goes the extra mile to put the time in, why should he or she be punished for this?

At the end of the day, forcing students to come to every class continues to hold them back from developing into fully formed independent adults. It reinforces the habit of succeeding by showing up.

It takes more than converting oxygen to carbon dioxide in a desk if you are really going to gain something from the college experience. But, it shouldn’t be defined by a tick in a box, next to a name, at the top of the hour.