How many tardies have you absorbed this year? Maybe enough to qualify for a Saturday school at BHS? Going to school in the morning should be relaxing and you should have time to enter school without “GO! GO! GO!” or “Hustle up, you have 30 seconds.”

Most students are at school just about on time. Although we may not be early, the ones who come in after the bell have reasons and also the will to enter school on time. Knowing the ones who strut in late without a care is crucial, but a lot of us do care, and put in the effort to try to make it on time. The ones who do shouldn’t be punished for missing the bell by 15 seconds.

Although the early start time of school may be a huge part of this situation, I do not think changing it would make all the difference. Kids will continue cutting it close each morning. However, an idea I would like to propose is a leeway period.

Now I can see those in authority wincing about this, but it’s a compromise to level the battlegrounds of BHS in the morning.

There is always more to a “within seconds tardy”, and it seems unfair to the student most days. A student who eats breakfast is late for adding a couple extra minutes to their morning routine. Students who believe their hygiene isn’t up to par and make an effort to help themselves may be a few seconds late and get a tardy.  Not to even mention illness and still trying your hardest to be on time. Another thing that makes you late is if you forget your lanyard; you are forced to wait for a replacement sticker. This is just one other way for you to become tardy when you were going to be on time.

We are people and sometimes we will whiff on a curve ball with a full count. It’s not easy having issues in the morning and being penalized for our efforts to get to school.

One new term I learned in economics class is negative externalities. These negative externalities are the reason we are often late within moments; for example, after maximizing your morning and leaving at your “perfect time”, you are stuck behind a bus. You leave your house only to get detoured for fallen branches or a car crash. You are at school just about on time but are forced to wait in the mile long back up at drop off. You are hustling to get in before the bell at 7:18-7:19 a.m. and get caught before entering, being stopped in your tracks for another three minutes. These are all examples of negative externalities.

An abundance of teachers, believe it or not, allow students in the mornings to come in late. They hold off on attendance, and some may even make the argument, “if im being forced to be at school for seven hours I need my coffee.”

I will reiterate that there are so many ways to be late within moments. I suggest that when all possibilities are taken into account, giving us a leeway of five to ten minutes is reasonable. As long as this isn’t abused and the student makes a clear effort to hustle, it seems like a fair way to prevent some Saturday schools at BHS.