With a fair amount of students doing hybrid and some doing completely remote, asynchronous days happen at least two times a week, which means that instead of more class time, we have more assignments. These at-home work days are usually fine — unless you have assignments due at 3:00 pm.
I understand why teachers have assignments due at 3:00. It creates structure so that at-home days are actually productive, not just a chance to sleep in and watch TV all day. I also understand that it gives teachers the chance to look over assignments before class and not have work turned in at 1:00 in the morning.
However, there is a great deal of anxiety when you look on Canvas and see that an assignment is due at 3:00 pm. Rather than thinking “this is great! I won’t have to work on my homework all night,” I start to feel time slipping away and the panic setting in.
I have also noticed that it takes me a lot longer to complete work on a tight deadline because I spend so much time calculating the hours I have left until the assignment is due, as well as trying to plan my other homework around it. Also, there are no immediate benefits for students when they turn assignments in at 3:00.
Teachers are not grading the assignments right when they get them, so students have to wait just as long for their work to be assessedRegardless of whether you like the 3:00 pm deadlines or not, I think we all can agree that, as high schoolers, we should have the opportunity to complete our work whenever we want to — whether it’s five minutes or two days before class starts.
It is our responsibility to turn assignments in on time, so when we complete them should be in our control. I think this is even more important in our world of hybrid learning, where the structured days of an 8:00 am to 3:00 pm schedule are over.
Since flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of this chaotic age we are living in, taking away the stress of 3:00 pm due dates will not only give students a sense of control, but confidence that their teachers trust them to build a schedule that works best for them — whether you start your work at 7:00 am or 11:00 am, the choice should be yours.
