Should I skip class?

So normally I always go to class, I haven’t skipped yet this year, but I’m thinking about skipping Monday. On Monday I only have 1 class, which is Chem 1 lecture. It’s at 10:40. Attendence isn’t mandatory so it isn’t taken. I have the class Monday’s, Wednesdays, and Friday’s. The lecture isn’t super helpful in understanding chemistry. My professor usually has a 200 slide power point that he mostly clicks through and just expects you to look at it in your own time later anyway. A lot of the stuff comes straight from the textbook. The reason I want to skip is honestly to get an extra day off and to accomplish some more chemistry studying ( I think I can learn more doing practice problems, than going to lecture and having my professor do 1 easy problem). Also my weekends have been getting a lot shorter and I haven’t really been able to use them to rest up or accomplish as much work as I did before. I just joined a team at my university and we always have Saturday practices that take all day, so I don’t have time to do any other work and I’m often burned out after practice. The only day I really have free now is Sunday. Also my Chem teacher posts a video of his lectures immediately after finishing them, so I could just watch the lecture on Monday instead of getting up going to class and sitting through it. Also they don’t give us assignments in class, everything we need to do is avalible online, so I don’t have to worry about missing work.

Skip the class; it’s not a big deal at all. (This website being what it is, the rest of the replies are going to say that the fate of your eternal soul rests on attending it. There are some classes you should never miss, but I wouldn’t worry about a giant lecture class where the professor reads off a PowerPoint.)

I am not going to say that “the fate of your eternal soul rests on attending” this class. Sounds like you have analyzed in a way that it will make very little difference to you, yet you are posting a question of should I or shouldn’t I on a website which makes me think that you are questioning your motives. Only you can decide what it right or wrong for you, and whether or not you feel that attending the class is worth your time.

My own point of view is that starting a habit of class skipping could create problems in your academic career if it actually becomes a habit. You do it once with little or no consequence you increase the odds that you will do it again, maybe when it is academically more risky, and soon you could be sliding down a slippery slope. Most trips down the harder paths in life don’t happen by one decision, but by a series of mistakes and bad decisions. And, most people think they are immune to bad consequences when they start down these paths.

If you were my son or daughter and I were paying for your education, I would expect you to be attending class–that and studying should be your first priority. If you were my son or daughter and I learned that taking up a sport was wiping you out to the point that you needed to skip class to extend your weekend I would be asking you whether or not being part of this sport was a good idea. Maybe you and your parents have different priorities for you, that’s between you and them.

So can you get by if you don’t attend this class every Monday? Probably. Should you skip it? Probably not, even if you think that hour or so class is a waste of your time. But it’s you that has to decide if that is a good idea of not. That’s what being a grown up is all about.

I agree…don’t skip. You will soon be able to talk to yourself into not going. People who don’t attend class tend to do worse. You think you will watch the video…but then you will let that slide. If you are going to the lecture, at least you are getting up and are out the door by 10:40. Otherwise, you will sleep in and won’t really get going until after lunch.

I wanted to reiterate the point @NorthernMom61 made – once you rationalize skipping the first time, it becomes easier to rationalize skipping each subsequent time, which can create unnecessary stress in your academic career. You also really shouldn’t be prioritizing an extracurricular over your coursework. If you have to skip classes because a sport is taking too much of your time, the sport is the problem, not the class.

Would you tell your boss that you couldn’t come in on Mondays because you could do a better job by staying at home and reading files, and after all your weekend sports league takes up a lot of your time, and work is really boring anyway?

I’ve skipped plenty of classes. Granted, I have been trapped in CC for an above average amount of time.

I skipped plenty of undergrad (and my fair share of grad classes for my masters) classes. I’ve never missed work unless I’m really, really sick (or, in one case, I was in a bad car accident). I do not think the two are comparable to be honest.

I don’t see anything wrong with skipping but I do think it’s important to remember that it will be easier to rationalize and likely lead to skipping more. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but you have to decide for yourself whether that is a risk you’re willing to take.

What if the professor happens to make an important announcement during this class that you then miss because you skipped it? What if they give a hint to what will be on the exam that they don’t put on the powerpoints? Just keep in mind that if something like that happens (even if it’s not very likely to happen), it’s on you for skipping unnecessarily and missing that information.

As to whether you should skip or go to class, you’re an adult; it’s your decision. But as an adult, you also need to understand and accept any consequences of your decisions.

My Intro Chem class was run in a VERY similar way to yours, and I’ll be honest… I went for three weeks at the beginning of the semester and then just went to my lab from there on out. And while everyone else was complaining about how awful the prof was and saying it was impossible to get an A, I was reading the book, doing the assignments, consulting with my TA when something stumped me, and making an A in the course. If you have the motivation to still do the learning, skipping isn’t gonna kill you. If you don’t, well then skip at your own risk.

I think there are some classes where you just know that you can skip. I have had a couple classes that I know I could’ve skipped regularly, but I didn’t because I always thought skipping was bad. Even though you could skip every Monday, I wouldn’t encourage regular skipping. One of the reasons why I wouldn’t encourage this is because your professor may give our hints to possible exam questions. Some of my professors have said during class, “This will be on the exam!” By missing class on Mondays, you run the risk of missing out on important information. If you feel that you can skip a day here and there, then I’d do it. I wouldn’t plan on missing every Monday, though.

If you were sick, I would say skip.

You’re not sick, you’re annoyed that your weekend has gotten shorter because you’ve chosen to join a team.

I think your priorities have gotten confused.

Save your “skips” for the days when you have a fever and can’t get out of bed, not the Mondays when you’ve played too hard over the weekend.

If you want to skip class then skip.

It’s not a life or death situation, no need for a thread.

To be fair, all the threads about whether or not a C on a 2nd grade spelling test will keep someone out of Harvard are not considered “life or death” either. I’d wager that a LOT of the concerns of your typical CC user aren’t terribly pressing.