The Impact of Hunting Season on Schools

By Elliot Haverland

There isn’t a bigger tradition than deer season in the Midwest. Thousands of hunters across the region take vacation days during the nine-day gun deer season in hopes of bagging a trophy to hang on their wall. Weeks of preparation are taken in order to find the perfect spot and to locate the animals. The excitement can be seen as monumental to anyone who doesn’t participate in the sport. Many people do not realize how many hunters there are, especially within our schools. Many schools throughout the Midwest see a large drop in student attendance during the week of deer season. Deer season is such a widely participated-in sport that a large majority of students take personal days from school to go hunting.

Lesson plans can be difficult for teachers during the week when so many students are absent. Most teachers have a backup plan just in case too many students aren’t in class each day. One teacher’s approach is to not change his lesson plans at all; he decides how he would like to teach the material as the classes arrive. “I assume that everyone will be here on Monday and Tuesday and plan normally from there,” said Mr. Liechty, the high school chemistry teacher, “If most of the class is present, my lessons go on as usual. If a large number of students are absent, I slow down the lesson or I provide work time on other projects.” Mr. Green, the high school math teacher, also follows a similar plan throughout the week. “I try to get an estimate of how many kids will be gone,” said Green, “I know what I want to teach but I may change the way I teach it and not get as in-depth on topics.”

A majority of the teachers say that their classes go much smoother during hunting season, due to the change in lessons and fewer students. In the chemistry room, Mr. Liechty usually slows down his teaching for the younger classes. For the upperclassmen, on the other hand, he doesn’t change how he teaches whatsoever, because, “The upperclassmen should understand what they will have to do when they come back next week.” Mr. Lynn, the business education teacher, employs a similar plan of attack throughout the week. “I usually plan on an adjustment period for any students who were gone.” Most of the students who hunt are on top of their work and don’t give the teachers many difficulties during the week.

Teachers don’t really consider having so many students gone deer hunting a problem. They think it is a cool hobby for so many kids to participate in. In fact, there are some who think we should not have school during deer season week at all. “I think they should cancel school all week, considering that there isn’t really a spring break anyways,” said Mr. Liechty. There are some teachers who are not enthused by the absence of their students. Mr. Green says that his job becomes more difficult when students go deer hunting because some of the students may be struggling in his classes. These people then end up with a larger workload when they come back, which also results in a larger workload for Mr. Green. There are also teachers who fall in between being alright with students hunting and wanting them to stay in school. “I think it is a cool hobby for kids to have,” says Mr. Lynn, “It’s always better to see them in the classroom, but considering all of the reasons to miss class, this is not the worst.”

Students do not think that the large decrease in attendance is a problem, and most students think that it is alright to miss school. Jaydon Pfab, a senior at Potosi, is one of those students. “A lot of people enjoy hunting and it is a very popular activity in the area,” says Pfab, “I think it is really cool that they go hunting”. Pfab does not hunt; he went once with his uncle and never gained an interest in the sport, spending most of the experience bored. Even if he had a plan to hunt, he would not skip school. “I plan on having a work-week for scholarships and homework,” says Pfab, “it’s a relaxing week.” Most of Jaydon’s classes only have around one to four students missing, mainly only in smaller classes. His teachers will usually just give the remaining students a study period or a review day.

Another senior at Potosi, Jadyn Noonan, shares the same view on students who hunt. “I think it is a personal decision if they want to go hunting during the school week,” says Jadyn, “If they think they are fine in their classes then they can go ahead.” Jadyn is a big hunter, having taken off of school all three days for deer season. She usually doesn’t skip, but her family was low on venison, so she decided to go hunting instead. She prepares for the week by going out and scouting out the property they hunt on, looking for any sign of deer. Once they locate a good spot, they set up a ground blind or a tree stand and allow the animals to get adjusted to the new object in the woods. Usually, during deer season, the classes with more male students seem to have more students missing. “The teachers either don’t move on or they move forward slowly so others don’t miss as much,” says Jadyn.

Dylan Udelhoven, a sophomore at Potosi, thinks that students can go hunting, as long as they are actually hunting. “Some people take off just to take off,” says Dylan,” but as long as they’re hunting and catch up with their work afterwards it’s alright”. Dylan also took the week of deer season off, saying it was an easy decision to make. All of his classes see a decrease in student attendance, and the teachers tend to slow down the material or just have a study hall.

The deficit in student attendance is not as urgent of an issue as many would think. Teachers do not think of it as a bad thing that so many students would rather hunt than attend school. Teachers would prefer to see a system that would prevent students who are struggling in school to skip to go hunting, and allow the students who are not struggling to be able to go. Mr. Green, to name one, would like to see a system enacted in order to help the students in his classes and to help him do his job better, but is unsure how it could work. Students enjoy being able to get the time off because it gives them a break from school for a few extra days and because they have a large interest in hunting. All students have similar advice: if you plan to go hunting, make sure you are caught up and don’t fall behind. Even the students who do not participate think it is alright for other students to be able to hunt. Overall, people believe that students should be able to take off school to go hunting if they are not struggling or falling behind in their classes.