should a 17 year old still have their atendance tracked by the school

[leah8001996]

I don't think a 17 year old should as their an adult and should be able to make their own choice's about when he/she comes to school and what time he/she gets to school

So, should staff hold lessons up and wait for you to arrive then?

A 17 year old is not an adult.

If you go to school, then you should be at school at the correct time regardless of your age. You should abide by the rules of the school.

I have a lovely 16 year old DD. She is mature in many ways, but very immature in other ways. She is definitely not an adult.

Attendance is tracked at university too, not just school.

Yes, attendance should be tracked if you are a pupil at that school.

When you are older and have a job, you can't choose to go in when you feel like it. You go in at the times that are agreed in the contract. School is good training for this.

Leah- why don't you write a post laying out all the issues you have and maybe people could give you some advice? It does sound as if you need someone to talk to- is there anyone in real life you could talk to?

IF it was a job (paid or unpaid) attendance would be tracked (and you would be asked to leave if you didn't turn up enough/on time etc). So I think yes.

As others have said in your other threads, you're 17 and therefore not an adult, you're still a teenager.

Assuming you're a genuine poster, are you having some sort of trouble at school?

since when do adults get to make their own choices about shit?

Unfortunately Leah has started 6 threads over 24 hours on different aspects of being a teen. However she hasn't actually responded to the genuine and concerned responses of any posters.

Leah we would love to have a real discussion with you about your view points or what's bothering you but you need to engage in a conversation instead of just making endless controversial OPs.

If the 17 year old doesn't bother going to lessons they will fail their exams and it costs the school money.
However I do think that in some schools they do seem to treat the sixth formers as children. Sixth form colleges still track attendance on a lesson by lesson basis but when they are scheduled a study session they don't have to be in college.

Thanks for the headsup Betty.

Oh no, not another Leah thread. Is she doing a thesis on teenagers with our help?

Has anyone got the wright stuff schedule handy

Leah, if you want to be an adult, then you will have to do the things adults do: they support themselves, they look after their own catering, clothes care etc, they negotiate with other adults rather than demanding their rights, they are providers rather than provided for.

If you want to be treated like an adult, show your parents that you can be trusted, that you have a plan for getting a job and supporting yourself longterm.

Chances are, they are not afraid of you turning into an adult: they are afraid that by dropping out of school, you will stay a child, unable to look after yourself for far longer than could reasonably be expected.

My DS's new school doesn't treat them like kids, but like Employees. So like some engineering jobs they swipe as they enter or leave the building. They are expected to be there all day, but have some flexibility over their lunch break.

Yeah you have to do this, imagine if everyone showed up to things whenever they wanted and left when everyone wanted, it would be chaos...

I think it's reasonable, after all, work will track your attendance too. If you start not turning up for work you will lose your job. Schools and colleges aren't treating you like a child, they're trying to prepare you for the real world.

Being an adult isn't about doing whatever you want whenever you want (I wish!) It's about having responsibilities to those around you and to yourself. There are a lot more rules to abide by in the adult world than you'll ever meet at school.

Of course they should just like my employer tracks my attendance and sets targets for sickness.

Of course.

Leah, I think it would really help if you would have a conversation with people on here about what is upsetting you at the moment. Quite a few of us have teens, and we all used to be teens ourselves, so we do have some idea about the clash between how you feel - that you ought to get a lot more autonomy now that you are 16/17 - and the view of teachers about how they need for people to behave so that everyone in the school can get the most out of it.

You have started a lot of threads but not come back to talk to us about what's bothering you, so you're not getting the best advice and guidance, as some people will just be seeing one thread at a time and can't chat about things overall.

You've talked about time-keeping, about loo breaks, about uniform. The thing is, in the adult world you will still have to organise your life with a view to 'fitting in' with other people. I've been on a course lately, and we all turned up on time in the morning, took loo breaks at times that caused the least disruption to the class as a whole, and dressed in a way that suited the circumstances. OK that was our choice and not a set of rules, but we did it anyway. That's because we have all seen enough of the world to understand that if everyone wanders in and out of the classroom on a whim then nobody gets much learning done. We all paid money for the course (at least our employers did) so we wanted to get the best out of it.

Changing from a child into an adult isn't something that happens overnight, and there's no specific age when you wake up on your birthday and 'get it' - it happens slowly, and at different times for different people.

If you are lucky enough to feel mature for your age, then it's a good idea to show that to your teachers by voluntarily choosing to do things in a way that shows your maturity - and obeying school rules, even when you think they are a bit petty, is a part of that. You can do that because you can see that it is better for the younger (and less mature) students to have a single set of rules which work well overall.

If you feel rebellious, then that's ok too, it's part of being a teen. But try to do it in a way that doesn't make it difficult for other peole to learn in class, and in a way that doesn't make the teachers (and your parents) worry about you. I'm bothered that you talk about self-harm on another of your threads. That's something that some teens do, but you need to talk through things with a trusted adult to work out why you feel the need.

OP, adults have the manners to continue conversations and say 'thank you'.

Are you bored? Perhaps you could read some books? It might help your punctuation and grammar too.

If you're just trying to get people to say "yes, school is cruel and your parents are way too strict" then I suggest a forum aimed at teenagers rather than adults might give you the response you want.

If you genuinely want to talk about what's bothering you and get some advice and perspective from people with more life experience than you have right now, then it might be easier if you explain the whole situation in one post rather than starting many different threads about petty issues that probably don't reflect the main problems you're going through.

Oh Leah, just go away. (If you really are Leah that is, and not some pathetic, time wasting loner)

Yawn.....

At DD's school. The (Scottish equivalent of) the Y12s are not required to be at registration, but their attendance at timetabled classes is tracked. They must sign in and out of school if they miss registration or leave early.

Everyone who enters the building must either be registered or must sign in. It's a safety measure so that everyone can be accounted for in the event of a fire/other disaster.

I think all large buildings where a large number of people go in and out frequently work this way. Legal requirement I think.

I wish I'd had the option of asking questions on MN when I was a teen. Could have been very helpful.