Due dates are an important part of how a teacher runs the classroom. However, some due dates and times may be more harmful than helpful to students. The 8 a.m. due dates are one of these conundrums.

Considering the fact that most students wake up around 6:30 to 7 a.m., are we really giving the kids enough time to finish homework in the morning? An 8 a.m. due date may possibly stress out an anxious student, or cause harm to the students sleep schedule, which may put them further behind than before.

The district’s 8 a.m. due dates prioritize the teachers, not the students. For a teacher, an 8 a.m. due date is a perfect way to track how they might plan out their day for class and assignments. Students often suffer because of this. While under stress from time, students may crunch study and overload their brain, causing their grades to drop.

Another issue would be Schoology and the way the system is set up. If a grade is not submitted to Schoology within a certain time period after the due date, the assignment will automatically show up as missing and go in as a zero. So, a fourth hour class at 11 a.m. may have an 8 a.m. due date for an assignment that’s being done in class. So, a zero may be entered for an assignment that hasn’t even been completed yet.
Parents often complain when their child is struggling with turning in assignments on time. Parents seeing these grades go in as a zero or missing may lead the child to be punished unfairly. Not only that but it takes time for teachers to enter grades, so it may just appear as a missing assignment regardless if it was turned in on time or not.

When a student receives an email at the start of the school day saying that they have an missing or overdue assignment that hasn’t been done yet, it usually leads to involuntary anxiousness, this leads to being distracted in class or during an extracurricular due to the fact you’ll always be thinking about the assignments time. Instead, 11:59 p.m. due dates have a greater and more positive impact on students. These times are often used at universities and colleges. They also give the student all day to complete an assignment. The time also benefits the teachers by giving them extra time to grade work for students.

Another alternative, due dates at 3:05 p.m. may help students know what assignments are going on for the day and help them plan accordingly. In conclusion, 8 a.m. due dates should be changed to a more accommodating time, not just for the students but also for the teachers. This can lead to a stress free, educational environment where students can thrive without the need to be worried about the next time they’re going to wake up to an overdue assignment email. In all, due dates should change to 11:59 p.m. or at the earliest 3:05 p.m.