It may not be the popular opinion, but I like SchoolLoop. It’s efficient for my lifestyle and keeps me on track for assignments, but is that what everyone thinks? Maybe not.

SchoolLoop has been used for 7 years at Monte Vista, and I consider it a personal savior. I just can’t seem to keep a planner around, whether its the forgetfulness, the frailness of the small notebook, or pure laziness on my part; however, being a typical teenager, I always have my phone glued to me.With that, I always have SchoolLoop available to me within seconds.

It’s easy to use and in a world of technology, it is the most efficient way for me to track my grades and courses throughout the school year.

Senior Edward Miao for one, finds SchoolLoop to be an effective method for him to stay on task in school.

“It keeps you on track by letting you [know] what your grade is,” senior Edward Miao said. “Personally I like SchoolLoop, but some people definitely have different opinions.”

This is where the big argument comes in. Your parents can always see your grades. Gasp! That’s right! They can see every little assignment and test that is entered in on a mostly regular basis.

Junior Maddie Petrush is an avid SchoolLoop user but is sometimes hesitant that her parents can see every minor change. “Sometimes when a grade updates, my mom will text me before I know it updates and she [asks] ‘What’s with the zero in math?’ and I don’t know what [she’s] talking about,” Petrush said. “I guess it has good parts and bad parts.”

Personally, I am not bothered by my parents being able to see the constant changes in my grades. It’s my own responsibility to work for my grades, and I believe SchoolLoop has many features that help me achieve that.

“I think it’s good because sometimes teachers forgot to tell you some stuff in class but they write it on SchoolLoop,” Miao said. “It teaches you responsibility. Later on in college, it’s what teachers are going to do. They don’t really tell you in class and can just post stuff.”

Another constant issue with SchoolLoop that students face is whether or not teachers update on a regular basis. Honestly, it’s probably the most important part of SchoolLoop and really the sole reason for it. Without updating it, there’s virtually no point of having the site.

“I love SchoolLoop, I think it’s great,” Petrush said. “The only thing I don’t like about it is that teachers never update, but that’s not SchoolLoop’s fault, that’s my teachers’ fault. I think SchoolLoop is awesome.”

Is the site really to blame? I don’t think so. Of course it’s not the teachers’ sole responsibility to enter every assignment on SchoolLoop and students should be aware of their schedule on their own.

Personally, I think online grading systems in general are ridiculously useful. They get grades out promptly and keep them all in one place where students can easily access them. Putting pressure on teachers to get grades done isn’t really a con; teachers need to be prompt about getting grades out anyway.