WOODBURY — “It is stressful coming back to school after a few days off seeing the work that had piled up while I was gone,” said Cora Grogean, an eighth-grade student at Woodbury Middle School.
Kids all throughout the globe miss school for various reasons, including vacations. We all know how missing school can affect a person and their education, specifically grades and academic performance.
According to Indiana Youth Institute, a non-profit organization aiming to bring out the best in children, missing only 10 classes total can reduce test scores by 3-4% short-term. More studies show that at least 10 classes across the ninth grade decreases your chances of enrolling in a high-level college by 2%.
“But it’s also missing content and concepts that are hard to catch up on … and when they come back we may not address it again until before the end of the unit exam so they may not understand,” says Molly McKenna, an eighth-grade science teacher at WMS. “And when you come back, it’s hard to make those things up with limited time in iBlock.”
She talks about how missing classes affects your further education cause you can miss vital information that is needed to pass tests and exams, and how from a teachers perspective, missing class can negatively impact both academic performance and grades together.
Grogean agrees with McKenna.
“It’s hard because you don’t know what you’re missing, and it can be stressful to have to make up all the work in limited time, especially since the iBlock is only 30 minutes., she says.
Some students say it depends on the work missed and the vacation taken, but Sam Savulak feels strongly about what is right and what’s not.
“I’m scared to miss so much school because I get stressed out by being behind. On some occasions, I feel like it would be fine for a vacation, but those occasions are rare since there’s always something going on,” Savulak said
Savulak hasn’t missed one day of school this year, and her academics show that with straight A+s, ranging from 97% to 105%. On the contrary, Addie Cetrone, another eighth-grade student, went to Punta Cana and came back struggling with zeroes in PowerSchool. Cetrone emphasizes how her academic performance slumped after her time away.
“My grades dropped a lot because we had so many assignments when I wasn’t there, and when I went to do them they were past due,” Cetrone said. “I could mostly get at least half-credit, but for some assignments that wasn’t an option.”
Cetrone said she doesn’t regret laying back but wishes she stayed on top of her work, making her a little behind in most subjects.
The question of whether it’s worth it still stands, and it’s reasonable to assume it’s not. A vacation in paradise can relaxing and fun, but many regret some portion of it when coming back and seeing the missing assignments and assessments to make up. Although the feeling of tanning by the ocean with a Shirley Temple in one hand and a book in the other is like no other, the stress and anxiety of being behind is mind-rattling.
