I Would Initiate a Fistfight with Microsoft Teams if Given the Chance

After a year of off-and-on online learning, entering my junior year (which is widely considered to be the most challenging year of high school) felt ridiculously difficult. Unsurprisingly, nothing has changed after being in school for about two months; however, I now have more frustration than ever towards the format of education that America has adopted in the face of competitive build-up in academics. 

Mixed with the disaster of the recent pandemic, I feel like people are forgetting the consequences of what has been done versus what should be done. Specifically, the widespread implementation of online academic organizers like Canvas, Google Classroom, (or in my case) Microsoft Teams, has manifested into an expectation of most schools. During the pandemic, these platforms carried remote learning in order to maintain some sort of normalcy surrounding deadlines. I even regularly used Teams for my freshman year math, religion, and ceramics classes, and this was before COVID had reached the United States. But I am neither in remote learning nor a freshman: I am a junior in six AP/honors classes, and I feel the full effect of Teams’ downsides. 

I believe that online deadline platforms are an invasion of students’ time and privacy. Just from this year alone, I could not count the number of times where I have had dreams of or have woken up from fears that I may have forgotten to turn something in on Teams. Why should any of these classes have the right to bleed into the only time of day where I am able to manage my time based off of what I need? This means extracurriculars, hobbies, other homework, and time with my family and friends– not fighting to finish a worksheet that I forgot about before midnight. Assigning work that is due in class allows for a better sense of time awareness rather than forcing people to finish work before a restrictive deadline. I find that being able to choose from which of my assignments to work on in a specific order allows for a more fluid working experience that Teams takes away. 

Academic platforms served their purpose in the pandemic, but I am a firm believer that not every single aspect of school needs to be digitized. I do appreciate that harboring the content of the class through platforms is efficient and eco-friendly, and I think that the rise of Quizlet, Powerpoint, and Google Docs have made information more accessible and organized. These platforms serve a greater purpose than deadlines that I am so grateful to have ready at the tips of my fingers. 

That being said, having a deadline outside of school completely undermines the overall purpose of homework. Homework elaborates on ideas introduced in class time and allows for building upon skills that need honing; however, as school has become more competitive, it has become a challenge of time management. Within this deviation of purpose comes the greater mutation of seeing how efficiently students can sharpen their skills or process information rather than actually seeking effective education. I’m already on the fence about homework in general, but to bring in the question of a ticking clock that is present in my own home? I find it to be a pervasive interpretation of education.

My teachers know near nothing of what I or my classmates do at the times they assign homework for outside of school hours. When asking a fellow honors student in my classes of their opinion on out-of-class deadlines, they said,

Sometimes it’s nice to have some time outside of school to get it done; however, most of the time, it feels like I’m taking school home with me. It kind of sucks.

I am aware of the convenience factor for teachers, as I understand how it would be more organized and easier to keep track of absent work. I interviewed a high school administrator of over 20 years, and they agreed that there are definitely pros and cons. They started by mentioning that extended deadlines are in fact a benefit for students, explaining,

If teachers are going to allow for additional time or extended deadlines by using Canvas then I could see the benefit.

However, they quickly followed up saying,

“What I would not support is creating deadlines that are in addition to the normal school week. For example, having a quiz or homework assignment due on a Saturday/Sunday or during a holiday defeats the idea of getting rest and only adds to stress and mental health issues. If there is not enough instructional time during the week, then that school needs to look at its daily schedule and make adjustments there. Often times, teachers create these ‘out-of-bounds’ deadlines because they do not want to take away class time. This phenomenon is more prominent in college because classes meet 1-2 times a week.”

There may be exceptions, there may be kind teachers. But a majority of the time, students face the consequences of unforgiving clocks, no matter the reason for their tardiness. I spend all of my time from the time I get home to the time I fall asleep doing homework, and whether it’s doctors’ appointments or extracurriculars, I often feel like anything preventing me from finishing my homework should be removed. Teams should not have the power to evolve into a governor of my priorities, especially when my physical or mental health is at stake. 

Using Google Classroom, Teams, or Canvas is an efficient form of organizing content for in- and out-of-class resources; however, using the turn-in feature for out-of-class deadlines is a gross and invasive application of an otherwise useful platform. I agree that there are some benefits, so if you disagree, leave your opinion in the comments (respectfully, I’d hope). This topic is heavily nuanced and different for each student, so different opinions are completely expected and valid for the different types of schedules possible in a world as competitive as high school academics.