Yes- Matt Kelly, Staff Writer
An extracurricular activity is supposed to be a positive experience and enhance students’ collaboration skills. The students who do these activities at our school are more stressed with fewer hours to do homework. They get home at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. or even 10 p.m. in some cases and have almost no time to work and get a goodnight’s rest.
The student makes the choice to do after school activities that cause them to have less time to do homework. They chose to participate in these extracurricular activities and are expected to be able to do their work on time if they are participating.
Some students relish the chance to exceed in a crunched time frame.“I do better in school in season because I have a set schedule every day,” sophomore Mollie Greenberg said.
Coming home after a concert or a play gives students little time to complete all of their school work on time, “Only during one week of a production, tech week, I stay at school till 9 p.m. and feel as if I don’t have time to do my work,” sophomore Zach Cassidy said.
Students go to practice or rehearsal after school, then go home, eat dinner, and do homework until bedtime. This is their daily schedule, and helps participants focus on their school work.
Students should be excused or given extra time to do homework on the night of a concert, play, game, or any after school activity that requires a substantial amount of time. It is reasonable for students to be given extra time when they are not able to be with their school work.
On game days students sometimes aren’t home all day. “On game day we have to be at school at 3 p.m., and usually we don’t get home until 9 p.m., leaving me with almost no time to do homework if I want a good night’s sleep,” junior Nashon Plummer said.
It is hard for athletes and performers can struggle to keep up with their academic goals, while also performing well on the field. “Class while in season was more difficult for me than out of season. I had less time to study and complete work at home, because I was at home less due to practices and games,” senior Darren Feldman said.
Extracurricular activities represent a chance for students to work on their teamwork, learn how to put in hard work, and develop listening skills in a school environment to prepare for collaboration in life. Students withhold from participation because of school and are worried that there is not enough time to do work on certain days.
Teachers should excuse students from work or assignments on game days due to a limited amount of time to do schoolwork on these days. Giving them a disadvantage in the classroom, or even limiting sleep for some students, restricts their hours of sleep furthering preventing them from excelling in school.
No- Josh Friedman, Opinion Editor
Imagine that it’s game day. You have been mentally preparing all week and now the time has come. Your teammates rush the field. As time expires, the team celebrates. You arrive at school the following day expecting to reap the benefits of your victory only to realize that you actually lost.
The loss comes in the homework you forgot was issued on game day. Maybe you chose not to do it, or maybe you genuinely forgot. Either way, you now have a zero.
At the end of the day, that homework is your responsibility. Students with school-sponsored events should still be required to complete assignments due the following day.
Just because a student has a game, art show or any other extracurricular activity does not mean that the student does not have ample time to complete his or her work. There is time before or after the event to do so. Though students are often required to arrive at sporting events two to three hours beforehand, they still have time either during or directly after school to get the work done. If they can not do so, there is plenty of time following the event to get things done.
Students should not be guaranteed extensions just because of an event. There is nothing wrong with a student speaking with a teacher before or after class to acknowledge an event that may conflict with their homework.
All schedules for school-sponsored after-school activities are posted well in advance. Any student with an essay or project due has plenty of time to plan accordingly.
The teachers are not trying to sabotage the students either. “I’ll give them late credit,” math teacher Eva O’Keefe said.
A late credit on a homework is in no way a crippling grade. There comes a time when a choice must be made. “That’s why we make homework assignments only two points each,” O’Keefe said.
It will not be the end of the world if a student is unable to complete a homework assignment here and there.It is the responsibility of the student to manage their activities.
Students are given every opportunity to manage their school work and their extracurriculars. The burden does not rest on the shoulders of the teachers to make sure the student can complete the work. Every student athlete is more than capable of finding time for the work that should come first. Those in charge of these events should encourage students to make the academics their priority, and students should not fear punishment for doing so.
School comes first. Students participating in extracurricular activities should enjoy what they do, but that does not excuse them from responsibilities as an academic here.
