Recently, there has been a conversation in the HSA community about limiting student access to Skyward on weekends and nights. This conversation has been largely led by parents and teachers who worry about Skyward’s dominating influence on after-school life. These people, however, are not the ones who experience day to day high school life as a student. They do not understand what it is like to anxiously wait to see the grades that you have worked hard for. Also, Skyward should remain accessible at all times because if a student notices that one of their averages dropped, it is important for them to fix it as soon as possible. In this way, having real-time access to Skyward motivates students to get better grades because it immediately holds them accountable for bad study habits. Also, since grades are important for college, an inability to monitor them can harm a student’s future. While some may argue saying it’s a bad obsession for students to look at their grades, it’s best to keep them in check. Being obsessed with grades simply proves that one is extremely focused on their goal.
As for parents, Skyward should remain accessible 24/7 too. While it is not fun seeing your parents’ reaction to a bad grade, it’s important that they help keep you on track. For example, if you get a bad grade, your parents may encourage you to get help or change the class, if it is not right for you. Lastly, don’t you want to make your parents proud when they see you get a good grade?
As for myself, I check Skyward about two times a day. However, there have been a few times when I wished I never checked Skyward. When I see a bad grade, I usually feel disappointed in myself, but after a few minutes, I’ll get over it and work harder. Even though Skyward can make students disappointed or anxious, those feelings are what motivate students to get a better grade. In other words, the “obsession” students have with Skyward is what drives them to stay on top of their grades.
So much is expected from students to have good grades that we deserve to see them. Junior and senior years are when students need to access their grades for college. While interviewing Tess Cundiff, a sophomore at Ridgewood High School, she agreed that we should be able to access Skyward at all times. Tess commented that she wants her grade to come out right after taking a test because Tess can’t take the stress of waiting for her grade to be posted. She also added that seeing a bad grade motivates her to get better grades in the future. Lastly, I also interviewed Emily Kim, a sophomore at Ridgewood High School, who agreed that we should be able to access Skyward at all times. Emily added that checking her grades help her plan out what colleges are a good fit for her. She explained that she has received grades that disappointed her, but they help her learn from her mistakes. All in all, students deserve to check Skyward at all times.
Ava Jacoby
staff writer
Graphics: Ellie Tsapatsaris