Procrastination is a topic that is heavily overlooked. Most students procrastinate before tests or big assignments. Is it because of the stress or because of pure laziness? Mount Vernon is a strong high school, both academically and in sports. If students procrastinate, this could bring down that ranking.
Polly Hinrichs, a senior at Mount Vernon, says, “I avoid the task most of the time because it is tedious or difficult.” Students like Hinrichs often delay their projects and schoolwork because of the difficulty or even the length of the work. Oftentimes, students just like Hinrichs use their time after school and between practices to do the schoolwork assigned. They use their crunch time effectively. Or in some cases, ineffectively.
Mount Vernon students often have other activities on top of all their schoolwork. Annabelle Smith, a sophomore, said, “Because thinking about the project or studying for a test stresses me out, and I would much rather not be thinking about those things when I could be happy.” Smith is a year-round athlete who has to practice these sports on top of her schoolwork.
Most of the students at Mount Vernon participate in some sort of extracurricular activity, such as band, theater, or sports. Either way, these students have a lot to do after school. On top of their extracurricular activities and practices, they have their schoolwork to get done. Students often delay the work because they’re tired from their sports or fine arts activities.
Emery Willems, a Sophomore at MVHS, says she is a procrastinator and waits until the stress gets to her before doing the assigned work. Willems is involved in multiple fine arts activities as well as her schooling. This being said, Willems doesn’t always have time to do her schoolwork until the last second. The crunch
time at lunch or during a free period always helps when the assignment needs to be turned in the next day.
A survey was sent out to MVHS about procrastination. The question was “Are you a procrastinator?” The
majority of the students said yes, and others mostly said sometimes. Students have found some different ways to stop their procrastination and to help not worsen it.
Some students have thought about the consequences that come along with missing assignments, such as detentions or staying late to talk about it. Some students, on the other hand, just say to “Lock in” they need to get into that certain mindset, and then they’re able to crank out the essay, or math assignment they have been working on. Hinrichs relates to this and finds it useful. As she says, “Most of the time I just have to force myself to sit down and get it done so I can then do whatever it is that I wanted to do with the rest of my free time.”
Students procrastinate over all things high school; some procrastinate over classes, some procrastinate over the dress they want to buy for the next dance. Procrastination is all over and is able to be solved, but needs time. People will have to take their own pace while doing so; it’s not something you can rush.
Procrastination will often lead to bad grades. Bad grades mean student-athletes cannot participate in the sports that they cherish and love. When a student procrastinates before a big test, it’s often times because they’re worried about failure, or they’re discouraged. Teens would rather go into a test without studying and procrastinate about it all week than do an hour of studying each night.
That said, students need to focus on more important things rather than just their sports. The sport doesn’t define you, and grades don’t either. But procrastinating too much will. Students’ grades decrease on an incline when procrastination comes into the equation. Students need to figure out a solution, but teachers also need to be there for their students in case of assistance.
