Winter is the season when students are getting sick and classes are filled with the sounds of students coughing and sneezing instead of resting at home. This trend has to change for the sake of others.

It has become a routine for students to come to school no matter what, even when they are sick, which is highly unsanitary. As these sick students continue to come to school, they release air-borne or direct germs into the school environment that will infect other students and staff, causing this sickness to spread rapidly. This could affect other people more severely than it affected them because other people’s bodies react differently to germs.

Students need to take better care of their personal health and hygiene, especially when they are sick. It is understood that they might miss a few days of school in the recovery process, but their teachers and peers are here to help them with what they missed when they return back to school.

Many students feel that they can’t afford to miss any time in the classroom. Junior Mara Monroe said, “We have to come to school. If we even miss one day, we get so far behind and it messes with us for the rest of the semester.” The spirit of not wanting to miss any learning time at school is good and encouraged, but at the cost of their health, is it worth it?

Most students feel the same way as Monroe, as if they are required to be at school no matter the circumstances so that they do not get behind on classwork and homework. However, this is the reason why illnesses spread rapidly in a school environment, because there are different types of illnesses in one contained place.

AP NSL teacher Steven Watson said, “If you are sick, then getting better should be your main priority. There is a difference between skipping school and missing school because you are sick. It is important for students to stay home and get better.” Watson also emphasized the point that there are resources that students can use when they miss school from being sick.

This is something that has to be understood by students. They are not indestructible and they cannot do everything by themselves. There are times when students will require help from other people, and being sick is one of those times.

School nurse Joan Grocki said, “We encourage students to stay home if they are sick because they are contagious. Coming to school slows down the recovery process and it gets others sick as well.” Grocki understands that students worry about their academic process and that staying home would add an additional burden to their school work, but it does not make it right to be at school while sick.

Not only are students coming in sick, but so are teachers. Teachers have the same responsibility as students to take care of themselves before coming in the school environment because they are also putting others at risk.

So students, teachers and staff members, please retain from coming to school when sick or getting sick.