Skip classes to study at home.

[ephika]

Do/did you skip IB classes to study at home?

I'm seriously thinking of skipping two classes a week that ruin my schedule completely. I can't stand having to wake up at 6.30, start school at 8.20 and finish at 16.30-17.00 four days a week, with huge gaps in between classes and having to travel 1 hour to get to school. I don't think I will miss that much. The schedule that I have right now is probably more likely to affect my grades in a negative way. =/

Edited August 25, 2009 by ephika

[Zahid Ladha]

no

never skip classes

you never know when you miss something important

dont even think of it

p.s unless you're tired

[ephika]

no

never skip classes

you never know when you miss something important

dont even think of it

p.s unless you're tired

I'm in IB2 this year so I have a pretty clear view of what is expected of me when exams start in May 2010. And yeah, I get really tired by this schedule. I even have to reduce my physical exercises (which only consist of jogging two-three times a week) in order to get myself through this timetable.

[philipb]

Welcome to IB.

My schedule before I moved house:

6 Wake up

6.30 Out the door

6.45 Bus-Crowded and no free seats, and traffic jams

7.45-8 Get to school

8.10 School Starts

3. School ends- After school activities start 5 days a week

4.30 Activities done

5.30 get home

6 Homework + study

Basically: suck it up

[doesntmatterwhy]

Skipping classes = Stupidity.

You can do it perhaps ONCE the whole IB Experience.

I haven't done it thus far. It's been a whole year in IB for me.

5:30 - Wake up

6:00 - Leave Home

7:00 - Reach School

7:10 - Class Starts

11:00-11:30 - Lunch

2:30 - School ends

4 - Returned Home

5 - Start work

8:00-8:30 - Dinner

Sleep at a range from 10:30-1:30.

[Sandwich]

Ultimately it's your choice. If it's a lesson you don't think is that important and you can be more constructive by self-teaching yourself, go for it, provided you don't mind the teacher-led recriminations I know plenty of people who did this whenever we had useless teachers (I think for all of IB2 there was never more than half the Biology class not skipping). I did it a few times, but there are certain lines to be drawn - maths for instance. I couldn't teach myself and I never missed one of those lessons, ever.

It's your diploma, your grades, your style of learning and your time. Do with it as you see fit

EDIT: I would add, though, that you should attend all your IB1 lessons. Only do this in IB2 when you really know where you stand and are on top of a lot of the content. Even if you have a rubbish schedule, well, most of us do. I had days with 3 free hours in the middle of very early and very late lessons! I don't think you can be confident enough to start skipping until at least IB2, probably coming up to the exams.

[stylusdef]

The courses I'm planning to skip is my Language A1 (not English A1) course.

[Peachez]

I have not skipped IB classes to work at home, although I know many people who did that and it did not hurt them in any way because there are times when you do not do much work in classes and you have a huge presentation or something due very soon. I do not recomend it because you should be bale to plan your tme, although it is acceptable because of the work load that each person has.. which, in fact, varies from person to person.

[Abu]

I skipped some Tuesdays because all my classes then were worthless. 3 frees, Physics was a waste of time and the only subject which was worth while was English. It totally depends on your schedule and how useful you think your classes are.

[Taigan]

I've never skipped class and I wouldn't advise people to do so. There are some exceptions, however. Before skipping any class, it would be a good idea to ask the teacher what exactly he/she will be teaching in that class. If there is a doubt, go to class. It could be something important, and by missing out, you're hurting your chances of getting the best grades possible. Also, always ask your friends what happened in class, and if there were any notes available, get them.

I do understand however, that it can be frustrating when a teacher is slow, explains something more than once and generally wastes time. I know that when this happens I usually keep thinking that if I were at home I could be using that time to do something more useful. Still though, you never know what can happen, so I suggest you don't take the risk.

[moneyfaery]

no

never skip classes

you never know when you miss something important

dont even think of it

p.s unless you're tired

I had over a hundred absences (probably more, I think the teachers forgot I wasn't present for some classes... never got phone calls home ) and my grades weren't affected at all. Get a buddy to update you on what happened in class, and vice versa for classes your friend wants to skip. Some classes are a total waste of time.

Edit: after reading Alice's post, I realize I skipped "useful" classes too... like math. Still, some notes can be caught up easily. And make sure you know what's going on in class so you know when to skip.

Edited August 25, 2009 by Irene

[sweetnsimple786]

No offense, but unless you want to risk majorly pissing off your teacher, don't ask if he/she will be doing something "important" the next day. Teachers hate that question, and even if you word it differently and don't show up, they'll most likely make the connection.

To skip or not to skip? I would never skip class with my current schedule, but my circumstances aren't yours. It only takes 50 minutes max for me to go between home and school. Also, I have a full schedule, with about 25 minutes for lunch being my only real break. I agree with Sandwich in that it's your workload and you know it best. If you're trying to get chummy with certain teachers, then don't skip their classes, but if you think you can manage IB [and nonIB--if your school has those] assessments without being in class, go for it! You're saving valuable resources!

One thing though... I don't know how your school/nation handles skipping. If we're absent like ten days, we're "truant." We're revoked of driving privileges. If we're under 16, we're forced to attend school. Or we can drop out completely after we turn 16. Don't start skipping if you can incur any serious ramifications!

[Taigan]

No, I didn't mean that he should go up to a teacher and say "Are you teaching something worthwhile tomorrow as I'm planning on not coming?" That would be insane and I wouldn't be surprised if I got a slap in the face if I said that. There are other methods at finding out what the lesson plans are, you know. You could ask your teacher for a plan at the beginning of the year, or you could just skip and ask your friends later what happened. Still though, this may be risky.

Some teachers are useless, and this is a sad truth. I know that I wouldn't let my IB education be put in jeopardy just because I wanted to please my teacher. Just be polite and do what you think is best. That is the best advice I can give you.

[sweetnsimple786]

You make me laugh. By the way, if a teacher slaps you for that, you're lucky. You can press charges [Well unless corporal punishment is a-okay. Then it's so sketchy!] I'm saying that if you directly ask the teacher what he/she will be doing the next day, then the first response is "Why?" If I want to let the teacher know I'll be out, that's what I ask. The assumption's automatic, but I do clarify anyways. And if you ask for a detailed agenda of everyday and expect accuracy, I don't even know what to say! That is insane. And yeah, many of us agree that talking to friends afterward is a good idea, but that won't help if you missed something you didn't want to. Anyways, if you really don't care about the teacher, it wouldn't be a big deal, but you'd be surprised how much is subjective even in classes that you'd think are primarily objective! So it definitely doesn't hurt to have the teacher on your side.

OP: Quick question--you're not thinking of missing a science class right? Because if you miss one+ labs, you might not have enough lab hours. That wouldn't be good.

[moneyfaery]

You make me laugh. By the way, if a teacher slaps you for that, you're lucky. You can press charges [Well unless corporal punishment is a-okay. Then it's so sketchy!] I'm saying that if you directly ask the teacher what he/she will be doing the next day, then the first response is "Why?" If I want to let the teacher know I'll be out, that's what I ask. The assumption's automatic, but I do clarify anyways. And if you ask for a detailed agenda of everyday and expect accuracy, I don't even know what to say! That is insane. And yeah, many of us agree that talking to friends afterward is a good idea, but that won't help if you missed something you didn't want to. Anyways, if you really don't care about the teacher, it wouldn't be a big deal, but you'd be surprised how much is subjective even in classes that you'd think are primarily objective! So it definitely doesn't hurt to have the teacher on your side.

OP: Quick question--you're not thinking of missing a science class right? Because if you miss one+ labs, you might not have enough lab hours. That wouldn't be good.

Just say "what are we doing tomorrow?". It's a normal question for curious students. No idea what your teachers are like but I don't think mine cared if we skipped, haha. As long as you're respectful of them and don't act like they're totally useless... even if they are!!

And your teacher should notify you ahead of time for lab days. Towards the end of the year, you can skip more. I wouldn't suggest skipping right at the beginning.

[Abu]

Actually, he's in Saudi Arabia. He can't press charges. The teacher has the right to slap, hit, cane or pretty much any corrective action that the teacher deems necessary.

[greaterthaninfinity]

I skip a crapload of classes. Towards the end of the year, I was skipping at least one class every day. My grades were crap at the end of the year. However, I don't blame this on my skipping; I attribute this to my overall laziness. Starting homework at one in the morning... playing games and doodling instead of studying for exams... ahem.

Basically ALL of my teachers except my math teacher are extremely unproductive during class times anyway. If you are an independent and productive person by nature, I think you'd have no problem disciplining yourself whether or not you had a teacher. You'd probably be more efficient if you were actually looking over the syllabus and reading your textbook at home, in that case.

I would say don't skip the stuff that you're weak in. But for the full-of-BS classes (e.g. ToK, ahem), skip to your heart's content.

[Chelleee]

haha well in general skipping classes is a bad idea

but ON THE OTHER HAND, if the classes are basically a waste of time in the first place, why not?

personally i've never skipped class because it was a bludge, i only ever skip when my body is about to fail on me so i pick the best possible day to skip (eg. today i had bio, study, study, tok, study - seemed pretty good to me)

if you think you can catch up on what the class is doing, then yer sure why not?

and i feel your pain

i get up at 6 every morning, catch the bus, start school at 8:20, finish up at 3:20 and i get back home around 4:40pm every day. gotta love public transport

only thing is: make sure you do study when you skip out on classes or else you'll be even more screwed in the long run!

[Taigan]

Actually, he's in Saudi Arabia. He can't press charges. The teacher has the right to slap, hit, cane or pretty much any corrective action that the teacher deems necessary.

Haha, this may be true in most Saudi schools, but luckily, I don't have to witness stuff like that. I study in a British International school, therefore, most of the teachers have that mindset. I may not be able to sue, but any teacher who acts with violence will be fired. I don't know any of the teachers, however, who would do that in my school. Its a very peaceful place

[Max]

I never skipped any classes, even though quite a few of them were pretty useless - especially towards the end of IB2. In my opinion, the teacher gets a better impression of you if your attendance is almost impeccable and so he or she will be inclined to give you better predicted grades, which usually are quite important for applying to universities.

If you really must skip a class to do work for another subject, just talk to the teacher. Some of mine were quite accommodating and let students prepare for their orals for another subject.