It is self-evident that school is difficult to keep up with already, but if a student misses a day, or even a class, an absence becomes even more challenging. The absence makes it harder to understand that day’s assignment, which can then make future assignments more difficult as well. Of course, some students are absent for prolonged periods of time and that delays the schoolwork even longer. If anything, it creates a strong divide between students and teachers because, “When students aren’t here they can’t get the instruction from the teacher or the interaction from the teacher,” stated Mr.  Weaver, Assistant Principal at Pahrump Valley High school. The divide comes from the students not being able to connect with their teachers nor their way of teaching. This causes stress and anxiety, which makes it even more complicated to do school work. 

When you think of school you think of students, but the real backbone of most schools is the teachers. The teachers are just as affected by the constant absences as we the students are. Not only do they have to remember over 100+ students’ names, they have to make school accessible to those who can not be in the classroom. This requires them having to repeat themselves multiple times because students will come back and promptly ask what they missed. I’m sure the absences and nonstop disruptions affect the overall work flow of the classroom. Everyone has their own routine but as Mr. Dabrowski, a Geometry teacher at PVHS, put it, “I am having to do things over and over repeatedly. I imagine that is making the students who are here everyday crazy.” The repetition could cause students and teachers alike to not enjoy a previously favorite class.  Students can be out for multiple reasons, however this year it is more than likely because they are sick, and nobody wants to do work while they are sick. This means grades and school are neglected, leaving teachers in a tight and awkward position. Staff and students are always encouraged to stay home if they experience and COVID systems. Whether they have COVID or not, it is a safety precaution for everyone involved.

As previously mentioned, everybody has a different reason to be absent. Once students come back from their period of absence, they have multiple other things to worry about. For example, they have to worry about grades and getting in trouble. Also they have to worry about prioritizing their missing assignments to get everything done and they have to do a lesson on something their peers already learned about. Then the students have to add current school work on top of past work. This completely disrupts a student’s routine as Alyssa Franklin stated, “I was looking for a challenge… and when I was having to do all the late work, that was really stressful.” Even for students who are usually on top of their work, all the late assignments stressed them out. All of the stress that comes from late work can cause you to be really tense and it can also cause one to not make good decisions for their well being. This could mean they delay other things to get everything they need done.

Most of us try(ed) our hardest to get to school every day. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Now, especially with COVID, it is a lot more frequent. So to elaborate, late school work is much harder to catch up on, and the entire situation is irritating. Absences have a lasting effect that can continue for weeks after the initial absence.