It’s no secret that kids like to talk to their friends. It’s no secret that time gets away from us. It happens. We’re all human, and we make mistakes, right? Being tardy is sometimes one of those mistakes. When you’re tardy, you typically find a way to ensure that next time, you make it to class before the bell rings. At least that’s the case for most of us. However, there are some students who seem to be continuously racking up the tardies and teachers have come to the grand conclusion that they must do something to let the kids know that this shouldn’t become a continuous habit. What better way to do that than Saturday school, right?

Not necessarily.

I personally believe that Saturday school can do more harm than good. Sure, it’s been implemented to instill discipline to those who need it–as far as tardies go– but are we sure that’ll it actually serve its intended purpose? We must keep in mind that it’s Saturday. With that being said, nobody wants to get up early on a Saturday, especially not teenagers. Cue the ripple effect. A student gets three or more tardies, they get assigned for Saturday school, Saturday comes, and they just simply decide not to show up. Maybe not all kids will do it, but the majority will.

Saturday school typically only lasts for 2-3 hours. If you do end up being assigned to Saturday school, you’ll be spending that time doing schoolwork. Not the most exciting thing ever… but at the same time, it’s no big deal. We spend seven hours daily in school. 2 hours of doing English work isn’t going to crush your spirits. And after those two hours, those students still have the rest of the day to do whatever it is that they want. Sure, it won’t be fun to be at school on a Saturday, but it’s not like they’re going to be confined. Is Saturday school truly an effective deterrent if students still walk out with the impression that if they get five tardies, all they have to do is sit at school for three hours and then they’re able to run free for the rest of the day? 

I am all for enforcing rules that will make the education system run smoother. I’m also all for taking disciplinary action when necessary. Somewhere out there, there is a solution, but I just don’t think Saturday school is it.