I am what you would call a “crazy grade kid.” My favorite school hobby is refreshing the Genesis tab a hundred times just to make sure every single grade looked just how it had looked 20 minutes before. On test days, I impatiently reload the portal over and over until I get a headache praying that eventually my test grade will appear in front of me. With my Genesis obsession, I’m sure you can predict my reaction when the school announced on Jan. 31 that Genesis would be closed during the school day.

In a fit of outrage, I thought about who I could call, email or what I could do to get this issue fixed. I couldn’t comprehend how the school could do this, “These are my grades! I have a right to see them whenever I want to!” I thought that maybe I could round up enough kids and parents to sign a petition to pressure the school to change this, but I decided to try and adjust before jumping into such extreme measures.

With several weeks since the policy went into place, I have developed a complete transformation in my opinion regarding it. I do not feel the anxiety that I used to dread all day long with the weight of Genesis on my back. I am more focused in class, worrying about the lesson in front of me instead of worrying about if my A changed to an A-. Not only has my focus during class increased, but so has my attitude. Seeing a grade that I am disappointed by in Genesis throws me off track and puts me on a downward spiral for my day. Without being able to be affected by a bad grade during school hours, I have been relatively positive and care-free.

Additionally, I see the Genesis block as a benefit to my overall mental health. In a competitive school environment with many students vying for the same high achieving universities, Genesis during school hours furthers the competitive rivalry among students. The conversations at lunch surrounding what everyone got on the math test, and the pressure to log onto Genesis and check with everyone watching and waiting, is no longer an occurrence. Without Genesis in school, grades are kept as a more private and personal matter; which they should be.

While most of the focus is on students, since it is their grades, there are also the parents who check Genesis every day that are angered by this policy. While I agree that a parent should have access to their child’s grades to help keep them on track, parents can still check after 3 p.m. when Genesis re-opens. If a parent sees a grade that concerns them during the school day, they will barrage their child with texts and phone calls, causing their child to become unfocused in class and stressed about their parent’s reaction. After the school day is a much more effective time to discuss a grade issue, and for students who suffer from Genesis crazed parents, this policy should excite them.

With all this being said, of course, I still get frustrated at times when I forget about the policy and want to check my grades. I understand why students are still outraged and why they feel this block is an unfair policy. After years of being used to checking Genesis whenever we want, this change is definitely a shock and something that will take getting used to. Even though it is a big shift, it is a shift in the right direction. The policy comes with many benefits that even though students may not recognize now in the heat of the change, will ultimately benefit them in the future. Let’s focus on learning and worry about the grade later.