Success starts when you show up. That’s because the knowledge, experience, and even the hard work, can’t happen unless you’re there. That’s especially true for Trade School, where what you learn tomorrow is built on what you discovered yesterday. The class, shop, and lab lessons provide you with hands-on experience that you can’t get from reading a textbook or watching a lecture. Sure, there are times when life gets in the way and you absolutely can’t make a class, but if you think skipping class is okay, forget about excelling and moving onto a new career. Attendance is job one when you go to Trade School.

Missed Classes = Missed Opportunity for Hands-On Lessons

Trade school is all about learning how to work with your hands. Depending on your trade, you might learn how to use machinery and equipment, weld, run pipes, install an air conditioning unit, change a set of spark plugs, and much more. Those are skills that you can’t get from the online portion of your program or the pages of a book. Instead, you learn from hands-on demonstrations that will show you how to perform the work that you’ll do every day on the job. Many times, an instructor will walk you through a lesson so you can try the steps on your own. If you’re not there, you don’t see it, get it, or have an opportunity to practice it. Plus, when it comes time to take a test on it, you’ll be lost.

When You Miss Classes in Trade School, You Can Fall Behind

If you miss one class due to unforeseen circumstances, the instructor might be able to let you know what you missed. But if you continue to miss class, you’ll make it next to impossible to catch up. Once you fall too far behind, it’s like you didn’t take the class at all. Your instructor will think you don’t care, your grades will slip, and you might even be asked to leave the program if you don’t pass important classes.

A Missed Trade School Class Throws Money Away

You’re paying for classes. So why would you miss them? If you don’t attend trade school regularly, you’ll have wasted your hard-earned money. And if you were awarded financial aid, you could put yourself in danger of losing eligibility. Financial aid is awarded to students who make satisfactory academic progress. If your grades start to slip, or if you have to withdraw from a class or retake it, you might not be able to reapply for financial aid during the next term. But you’ll still owe the money you already borrowed!

You’ll Feel Discouraged

If you continuously skip classes, you’ll perform poorly, fall behind, and start to feel discouraged. Before you get to that point, communicate with your instructors. They want to help you succeed. If you need to miss a class, explain why and ask if you can make up the work. If you struggle with a particular lesson, ask for extra support. The more you communicate with your teachers and show that you really want to learn, the easier it will be to achieve success in school and in your career.

At Porter and Chester Institute in Connecticut and Massachusetts, we want to help you navigate the path to success through career training. We offer programs in Automotive, Computers, Cosmetology, Healthcare, Electrical Technology, and Plumbing. Fill out the form to learn more.