There is no doubt that almost everyone in RHS procrastinates, and, let’s face it, schoolwork is not fun; many students would rather play video games, read, or hop on social media and disregard the world. As much as teens hate to admit it, they do not always want to get their work done.
“I think that everyone puts their personal lives before their work,” says Stephanie Walsh, a teacher at RHS for twenty three years.
Walsh said that students would rather look “lazy than un-intelligent” because teens are embarrassed to say that they do not know something, and would rather seem like they just do not want to do the work.
Students are not the only ones who procrastinate regularly.
Aaron Shells, Senior, says, “A lot of teachers also procrastinate because they get behind.” Shells believes that teachers have days where they too just do not want to work. To Shells, teachers are just like the students, having off-days where they do not get work done.
Walsh agrees, saying, “It seems like a personality thing. Because of the amount of work teachers have, we prioritize. It is more about busyness.” Walsh agrees that teachers are also huge procrastinators.
Everybody has things to do, whether it be work, or dealing with family matters. Is this affecting whether students and teachers are getting their work done?
“Procrastination more comes from not knowing what to do,” says Walsh.
Walsh believes that, mainly for students, if someone is procrastinating, they simply do not know what to do, whereas for teachers, it is the fact that they are so busy from all the work that they are assigned. Shells agrees on the student part, but not the teacher portion of Walsh’s statement.
“It can be from business,” says Shells, “but even teachers are just lazy sometimes.”
There are those who work better under pressure like a time crunch or an absolute deadline. In this procrastination could be a good thing.
Kendall Yoder, a first year teacher at RHS, says, “Procrastination can be a good thing, but only if you have the work ethic to know that you will get it done on time. If you are a student who works well under pressure, then you can make it a good thing. If you do not know how to handle that pressure, then it is simply a bad thing.” Yoder says that students often put things like conversations and relationships ahead of doing their work. According to Yoder, school should come first, while relationships and conversations need to take the back seat until students are done with their work.
Grades are an integral part of the school system. Is it possible that procrastinating is affecting the grades at RHS?
“Procrastination is affecting grades,” says Walsh, “Those that are more organized and work a little bit at a time get better grades.”
“It’s hard to say for sure,” says Yoder, “But I would say it is affecting our grades.”
All in all, people procrastinate; it is inevitable. Walsh, Yoder, and Shells all agree that people do not like to work. To RHS teachers and students, everything depends on the student.
