Getting sick is inevitable, and it sucks – some parts, anyway. At school, the thought of getting sick brings a fake tear to a student’s eye, trying to convince their teacher that “Yes! I do care about this class and I do not want to miss a single second of it! Now give me extra credit!” However, at home, students will break out the thermometer at a single cough, hoping to have just one day to eat soup and sit on the couch watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off while their friends are slaving away at school under the command of The Man.
Some students do, anyway.
Other students’ skin crawls at the thought of waking up with a fever, because they know that there is zero chance of experiencing the luxury of staying home from school. Maybe their parents have to work and do not trust them home alone. Maybe they had a big exam that day, and they had been studying for weeks. Of course, they know that by going to school sick, they run the risk of passing this Bubonic Plague-like illness to someone else.
According to a survey of 232 students of all four grades at Dow High, 68% have dragged themselves to school, knowing that they are sick and should be staying home. Another 49% had to go sick because their parents made them. More than 60% of the people surveyed suspect that they have caught something from their classmates who have come to school sick. The number of students that go to school sick relates directly to the amount of students who catch a sickness from someone else. Of the people surveyed, 160 have gone to school sick, and 146 of those same people have caught something contagious. The next time you think you can get through the day without sneezing on someone, think again. So stay home, do not risk it.
There are definitely pros and cons to avoiding school when one is under the weather. Freshman Delaney Strouse recently missed nearly 7 days of school in a row due to sickness, and is experiencing the stress of making up missed work.
“Obviously the disadvantages are that you’re missing a ton of work, which is really stressful. I was too sick to even do work at home,” Strouse said. “I’m hoping by the beginning of next week I’ll have the majority of it done, but I feel like I’ll probably be making up bits and pieces of work for a long time. But, I mean, obviously the advantages are that it’s quicker to recover if you stay home, and you’re not getting your friends sick too.”
The students reading this are encouraged to stay home if they find themselves sick. It will be better for their health, they will recover faster, and they are saving others from the decision between school and a healthy lifestyle. The immune systems of the people not coughed on will be very thankful.
By: Nadia Fisher
