On September 24, the students of Pascack Hills received an email notifying them that Genesis, the school gradebook, will no longer be accessible during school. Many of the grade-obsessed students were worried about this new update. After all, when you’re living in a generation that is shaped around grades and convenience, not being able to check what you got on the most recent math test seems like a nightmare.

However, this new update may actually be a good thing. Students that are infatuated with their GPA will now actually focus in class more instead of checking their grades.

Junior Dean Quasem said, “It’s better that it’s shut off during the school day because students are always looking at their genesis waiting for new grades to be posted, even when the teacher is teaching. That distracts students from their main goal of learning, which could lead to worse grades.”

It happens so often. When a class becomes too boring, a student will decide to just click around on their computer. Instead of focusing, they’ll check what their homework is, if they got any new emails, and, of course, if Genesis has been updated. Now, with the new update, students will, at the very least, be encouraged to focus on learning the lesson they are being taught.

However, many students view this update in a negative light. Sofia Papadopoulos, junior at Pascack Hills, said, “When speaking to teachers about grades it becomes difficult to show them the concerns you have when you don’t have it for use at any time. If it truly needs to be locked, I think we should at least have it open for our lunch period so at some point in the day we can check everything out and make sure we are on track.”

Jolie Newman says, “I think it’s bad because it’ll only increase my anxiety about grades because I like being able to check Genesis when a grade goes up.”

Contrary to these students beliefs, it will reduce stress. Many students log into Genesis, endlessly worried about what they received on their history quiz or English homework. Some worry that their parents will be angry at them about poor grades when they get home. Now, students can learn at the end of the day if they did well on every quiz. Additionally, they can deal with their parents when they are home too, rather than stressing about them at school.

One of the biggest problems with Genesis is how compulsively obsessed students are with grades. They know the instant any quiz or test grade goes up. Students make themselves sick over failed assessments. iGeners are constantly grading themselves based on how well they did on a recent test. Now, at least during school hours, students will not be overly upset over one quiz score.

While the Genesis update may seem upsetting and stressful, it will actually have more advantages than disadvantages. Students will be less distracted, less stressed, and less upset. Remember, everyone can still check their gradebooks once they get home.