High school is already stressful enough as it is with the tests, exams and assignments students have to do. On top of that, missing just a few days of school can put you in a hole you may not be able to crawl out of.

In today’s world full of COVID-19 and other lingering illnesses, students are advised to stay at home if they feel under the weather to prevent illness from spreading on school grounds. 

How does the school reward you with making the safe choice and staying home, you may ask? With a lot of assignments and missed information, given only in classrooms you were unable to physically attend.

For this reason, many students come to school even when they feel ill, just so they don’t miss this valuable information they need for the upcoming assignments and tests, therefore spreading illness around the classrooms and the student body.

While we can all understand that teachers are under a lot of pressure and stress too, some do not give enough time to make up missed assignments and may underestimate how much work a student needs to make up from all their classes, while keeping up with their current work as well.

The Algonquin Student Handbook states, “The amount of time for a student to make up work will be twice the duration of the absence.” 

Excessive homework negatively impacts mental health, causes unnecessary stress

Homework should not be busywork

Students given too much homework, not enough time

If a student misses the required five days that the CDC advises if positive for COVID, that’s one week of school, 35 class periods, numerous hours of teaching in each class and dozens of assignments and tests.

They now have ten days to make up for all of the missed work once they’ve returned to school (if their teachers follow the handbook’s guidelines) on top of the topics and assignments the class is covering when they return.

This massive amount of work can spell disaster for many students, as all the missing work can have a snowball effect on the following weeks to come, resulting in heavy stress and even more missing work as they attempt to make up what they have previously missed.

Although not being in school can really be a burden on students, many teachers have been able to help by posting the assignments online for students to access. It would be helpful if all teachers did this while understanding that if a student is truly sick they likely cannot complete all that work while they are out.

This year has been a challenge for all of us. Students and teachers alike should have patience and support each other during these stressful times. Students that take the initiative to meet with teachers upon their return to school and make a plan will be better off than students who wait for their teachers to see they are struggling. Excusing even a few assignments missed during absences can also go a long way in helping students get caught up. 

 Teachers, with the help of students, need to work together to create plans that satisfy both parties in hopes to prevent an impossible workload for the following weeks to come.