As a counter-point, some people have different learning styles. I always learned way more reading the textbook than I did going to lectures. With so many profs posting their lecture slides online, it seems like there’s even less reason to attend class. If the course doesn’t follow a textbook or you’re more of an auditory learner, then you might need to go to class.
In the program I teach in, if you miss more than four classes you automatically fail.
I had a grad class where the lectures were SO BAD that it was literally a waste of time for me to go there. He muttered to the board and wrote all over the place, so it was impossible to follow. It’s the only class ever where I basically decided to bail on the lectures, but he put practice exams online and announced exam dates, so I scraped by. It was a judgment call, but by that time I had over 250 credits spread over more than 25 years, so I was kind of qualified to make a call on it. I would never advise this sort of thing for a sophomore.
OP, your S may survive this semester, but if he is not getting a good grounding because of the skipping class plan, it will catch up to him sooner or later.
Intro to anthro class I had to take for my major. It somehow got put off until my senior year. I went for the first few classes and I realized that I could literally be teaching the class. It was just so basic, but it was required.
It was twice a week right smack in the middle of the day. I was working and interning at the same time. I would go to my internship in the morning (a city over) and drive back, walk to class, walk back to my car, and drive to work in the same city as the internship. I quickly decided that it was way more efficient to not waste the gas and not be constantly running all day.
Was it a “good” reason? Was to me. Aced the class. By this point I had over a 3.8 GPA and over 150 credits under my belt so I figured I could make the call for myself. Perhaps it would have been different if my parents had been contributing financially.
Again, I’m not advocating skipping but I do think there are legitimate reasons for it. Situations are unique and there isn’t one size fits all.
As it appears the OP’s child has grade issues though (according to other posters), skipping is a bad idea.
I guess the big question is…WHY is this kid skipping classes? Is he sleeping in? Does this sophomore in college think he knows it all? Is he working? Is he gaming?
What’s the reason?
I will amend what I wrote…I can’t think of any good reason why a SOPHOMORE in college would regularly skip classes.
When he enters the workforce…will he decide he doesn’t have to go into his workplace…because he just doesn’t want to?
Sorry…setting up a bad habit.
@thumper1 I think OP stated student is meeting with TA at that time…but whether the TA is for this particular class or if the TA or student is communicating with the professor is unknown.
I think everyone is actually in agreement here. 90% of the time you should go to class. The only good reason to skip classes is if you can be fairly certain that you won’t miss anything, because the material is covered elsewhere, and you won’t get marked down for not being there. Generally that means you have to attend quite a few classes before you can be sure there will be no consequences.
As for the analogy with work - I’m pretty sure someone will notice your absence. So just like if someone notices your absence in class - there will be bad consequences. Skipping class only works if you have good alternatives. You still have to do the work. It’s more like working at home - some jobs it’s possible, others not so much.
Well my daughter goes to a small school so her professors do know if they skip and she is also an NCAA athlete and Coach asks for grades/attendance. But even so, you miss a lot when you miss class - material, assignments – it is all harder to make up when not attending classes.
@anxiousenior1 It makes me crazy when students say waking up for 8 am is too hard. In the real world, 8 am is really not early. Many people have been at work for hours by 8 am. That is a piss poor reason to miss class.
I’m surprised the TA isn’t required to be at the lecture. When I was a TA, that was the expectation - how else would we be able to answer the questions that come up in the discussion section if we didn’t know what happened in lecture?
Well, I’m on the other side of the podium, so I’ll provide some inside dirt:
In every lecture I give, I tell the students something that will be on the final exam. Every lecture.
Now, that’s not really the point of the lecture per se. The point is for the students to have learned something, and, just maybe, to get excited about something.
But, coming to my lectures will help your grade. And you’ve paid for them!
Gracious lord, I hope not. The TA is supposed to know the material well enough to answer questions about it.
My advice to my kids was this: Always go to class. Otherwise you’ll have to do the reading.
Back when I went to college, it was up to the student whether to go or not. Important material was covered and the lecturers were good, so I mostly went. I say “mostly” because I did skip a few every year due to illness or conflicts. Of course, I’d ask classmates what I missed.
I am enrolled in classes now at a big public U now where attendance counts toward the grade. I was shocked! Why didn’t they let me be an adult and decide when and if to attend? Why give me pop quizzes and in class projects? I know the practical reason is that this U has a low grad rate and the worry is that too many students do poorly because they skip class. I am an old person who mostly goes to class (seldom miss if at all) and I still resent being treated like a HS kid.
But back to the OP, if he is having trouble, he ought to be going to class. Good that he is talking to the TA, but I’d recommend he also go to lectures. Are there details we are missing?
Lol, we don’t know that talking is what they are doing…
Nor does anyone know if he is telling the truth about being in contact with the TA.
My D has some classes that use an electronic clicker to answer quiz questions, thereby allowing the professor to see who is there (of course, there are also people clicking in for other people, but that’s a whole other issue). Some teachers allow you one absence (which she took, to attend a family wedding out of state) - I guess they feel that they don’t want to waste their time with you if you aren’t taking it seriously.
Skipping classes, while sometimes unavoidable (being really sick, or an obligation you just cannot schedule around) is a bad habit. You do it once or twice, the consequences aren’t bad, the behavior becomes normalized. Then the skipping becomes frequent, and the balls in the air start dropping. The next thing you know, you’ve dug yourself an academic hole you may not be able to dig yourself out of. Don’t assume that your absence from a large lecture hall won’t have negative consequences at some point.
And, no, having an 8:00 am (or 9:00 am, or 10:00 am, or any time when you don’t want to go) class IS a poor excuse for missing. When you are self-employed and can set your own work hours, you can start whenever you like. Until then, school and the work world get to dictate when you show up. My D had two roommates last year that would be up at all hours at night (NOT usually studying BTW), and then sleep through a class or two the following day (one even showed up 1/2 hour into her midterm). This used to drive D crazy, as she always went to class; she hated missing in HS, and it’s no different now.
OP, if he doesn’t like the lecturer, is someone else teaching the class in a different section? I’ve heard about kids who will sit in on other lecturers for the same class (either skipping their assigned lecturer or in addition to, to get the material down more).
It’s not that the TA wouldn’t know the material; it’s that they need to know WHAT material was covered. What questions class members asked. What was confusing. What ideas outside the textbook were introduced. What students got excited about, or angry about, or wanted to know more about.
If the TA is skipping class, how can we expect the student to show up? 
I had a couple of professors who would give 5-point quizzes every couple of classes or so. They added up and could mean the difference between a higher or lower grade if you were near the borderline.
@Undercrackers my husband is self employed and I assure you he still cannot really set his own work hours – his business tends to dictate that for him - he was out the door at 4:30 am today.