Attendance is an important factor in school success among children and youth. Studies show that better attendance is related to higher academic achievement for students of all backgrounds, but particularly for children with lower socio-economic status. Absenteeism is one of the major problem of the classroom teachers. It is a frequent or habitual absence from school. Without the guidance of the parents or guardians, these absenteeism will always arise in our school. Like what I’ve experience from my 6 years teaching in public school, absenteeism is always in the list in the teacher’s encountered problem. A lots of reasons why our pupils still absent in their class. Poverty, Unemployment of the Parents, Physical Health, Mental Health Condition, Family socio-economic status and Place of residence are the major causes of Absenteeism. On the other hand, these absenteeism will lessen if we can make a solution. The solution that I would suggest is that the HOME VISITATION.
Home Visitation is very important especially for our teachers. We can easily knew the conditions of the pupils why still not coming to the school. There are some cases that some pupils can’t attend their class because they need first to work and earn money to continue their study. Other reasons, they can’t go to the school because they live in the remote areas like sitio or in the high land places especially during rainy seasons, they can’t easily attend their classes. I have researched and gave credited to Ms. Jill E. Thomas, she had created 7 Suggestions for Home Visitations. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your home visit:
- Make home visits a part of your classroom or school culture so that no one feels singled out.
- Systematize who gets home visits to keep the practice manageable for you.
- Set aside strategic times during the year for home visits.
- Be flexible about when you do a home visit. Let the parent or guardian decide the date and time.
- Be prepared to share one concrete example of a way that you’ve seen the student shine.
- Don’t discuss grades or behavior. This is a time for getting to know the family. Ask them open-ended questions. Ask your student to show you where they do their homework.
- Thank the family for allowing you in to their home.
There are lot of ways on how to control the absenteeism in our class. Make sure that we always intact with our pupils. The main objective in the life of a teacher is to promote and helping them to be successful in their entire life. To raise them with faith in God, to become independent and what’s important is, to have a good future that they want to be.
References:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/absenteeism
http://www.doe.in.gov/student-services/attendance/contributing-factors-absenteeism
Suggested Citation:
http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=student-absenteeism
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/home-visits-reaching-beyond-classroom-jill-thomas
By: Leonard S. Malang | Teacher III | Culis Elementary School Culis, Hermosa, Bataan
