According to CNN News, teenager  Tyre Sampson, fell to his death from an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida. After being rejected on multiple rides, one of the ride operators let Sampson on a ride called “Free Fall.¨  The community guidelines state the limit of weight per passenger is 250 pounds and Tyre was over the limit. Knowing this, he still decided he wanted to ride.

Bell High needs to teach students to be responsible. 

Ditching classes is irresponsible and has become a big problem in the school. Many students get caught ditching today according to Bell High PSA counselor, Ms. Marisa Franco. 

 ¨I would bring back the tardy room that we used to have and put all students in there that are ditching,¨ Franco says. The tardy room was created by the administration ¨years ago,¨ Franco states.  The tardy room  was a good way to make students not want to ditch and get caught.  Bell High should bring back the tardy room so that it teaches students that there are consequences to their actions.

Once they caught the students ditching their classes administration would bring the students into the Tardy Room and would make them do classwork or homework. Meanwhile they would call home and, if nobody answers, they would try to schedule a parent conference. In the worst case scenario a PSA counselor might pay a friendly visit to the home. 

¨From what students tell me and what I hear, they ditch because they’re bored, they don’t like the teacher or people in the class,¨ Franco says.

Bell High needs to teach students that it is irresponsible to ditch classes just because  they are bored or don’t like the teacher or other students in their classes. 

 “When they ditch, the consequences the students get are daily contracts, phone calls home, in person parent conferences and visits to the students house,¨ Franco said.   

Sometimes these consequences work, especially when parents care about their child’s education.  But some students don’t care.  They are rebellious and they still ditch class.

“Teens make bad decisions because their parents never gave them attention,” junior Irwin Aguilar says. 

When administration allows these students to wander around the school it makes the students think that they won’t get in trouble if they continue to wander and ditch.

Bell High should focus more on making sure that students don’t ditch their classes and wander around the school. They should bring back the tardy room for those students who continue to ditch. 

The school should also take it upon themselves to take social time from some of the students who continue to ditch. 

If taking social time away doesn’t make a change, the school should take into consideration using the school board code 48260 which allows the school board to take students and their parents to court for a SARB (a School Attendance Review Board) meeting. 

Without consequences, Bell High students will continue to be irresponsible and ditch their classes.