Senior Amya Waters missed two weeks of school due to illness–and returned to find 20 missing assignments in her AP Macroeconomics class. With the already heavy AP load increasing, Waters’ stress skyrocketed, her frustration compounded by the fact her sickness was not something out of her control.
“It’s really hard to come back from missing school. When I miss too much school, piled on top of the normal course load that I already have, it just becomes too stressful for me,” Waters said.
Beyond the normal problems that come from being sick, a bigger stress is often the worry classes run on a teaching schedule, that can’t just wait on everybody to be present to move on, so sick students are bound to miss out.
“Completing all your missing assignments is difficult, especially when the whole class is already moving ahead,” sophomore Aniah Desroches said.
Student absences can also be very stressful for teachers, as they have a curriculum to cover within a certain time frame, and tests to prepare for. On top of that, they have multiple classes with many students they have to worry about and take into consideration when moving along in the class.
“Having to go back and re-teach is not something that is usually built into the SCPS instructional plan,” US History teacher Julie Duncan said. “[Students being absent] means cutting something new in favor of trying to re-teach concepts that were missed due to student absences. US History is too important to take a day off.”
When students are absent, whether it be due to illness or just because they simply “aren’t feeling” like school for a day or two, important things in the class are going to be missed…especially in an AP or honors class.
Another issue students face when missing school is the emotional toll of all the makeup work. Finding motivation to do the work can be harder than actually doing the work
“I always end up just kind of pushing my work aside and not thinking about it, and then it just keeps building up over time, and… it’s just not good. It’s so hard to come back,” Waters said.
Some students make an effort to check Canvas, leading to an easier time making up work, while others struggle to know where to look or what’s due. Especially when a student is sick, they might not feel up to doing their work, or they might just procrastinate due to laziness.
Many have found strategies to stay on top of their schoolwork, like having a planner. For some, having a physical planner can be more beneficial, while others prefer to have a digital planner for quicker access. When teachers keep their assignments updated on Canvas, it becomes easier for students to easily find when things are due and copy them into your planner.
However, some teachers don’t really update their Canvas page, therefore making it more difficult for students to find what is due and at what times. In a situation like this, it is most beneficial to email the teacher and ask about what work needs to be done, before falling behind.
Most teachers do update their Canvas page, and some even have a specific section dedicated to absent students to go and look at to stay caught up.
“All of the work is there. Students can easily log in at the beginning of the week and see everything that we are going to do,” Duncan said. “ If a student has to miss a week of school, the weekly assignments are posted on Monday at 7am. They are able to complete the work as long as they have a device and internet connection.”
