The words “sick day” bring to mind spending the day in bed and eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and maybe getting some quality T. V. time in too, but nowadays students are expected to do piles of school work while trying to recover, thanks to a little invention called Blackboard!
The whole point of staying home is to recuperate from being sick, not to do all the work you would do if you went to school anyway. Unfortunately, now some teachers are requesting the missed work from the students the day they return because “it was on Blackboard.”
Don’t get me wrong. Blackboard is a wonderful invention for when you forget your math worksheet in your locker or are too lazy to write down the homework in class, but on sick days, I think most people would agree that we could do without it.
What I’m wondering is how on earth someone can efficiently do their work if they are sick enough to miss a day of school. We all know there are some students who like to take a “sick day” because they are had a late night or because they didn’t study for their history test but let’s not let them ruin it for the rest of us. If someone has the flu, there is no way they can work on math or read a chapter of history while they are spending their day near the trash can. When most people are sick from a job, they are not expected to continue working at home, why should students be expected to be any different?
On top of worrying about completing all your work while getting better, students have to figure out what the teacher’s policy on makeup work actually is. Some teachers accept the work the next day but others wonder why it isn’t already done, these numerous policies make it confusing for students and often result in a zero on the assignment and sore feelings.
I have seven different syllabuses in my binders telling me seven different regulations on makeup work.
Some say missed homework is due the next day of class, others want students to come the next day of school to get their work or turn their missed work in , while some again don’t mind giving the work to you when you come in order to be completed for the next class. I even have one teacher who will accept your work the next week. Confused yet? Don’t worry; you’re not the only one.
I understand that in order to keep up with the class, work needs to be turned in. And if it’s AP class, then I completely understand for students who miss the class to have to make up work quickly as those classes move at a fast past. What I think that people need to understand is that sometimes we have to take a day off, we can’t control being sick, and we need to get better. There’s no point coming to school and being miserable if your sick just like there is no point making students do work at home when they are sick. So I vote that we leave sick to being sick and worry about all the work later.
