n today’s high pressure academic environment, many students are feeling the weight of the school system that may often be more focused on performance than personal growth and real learning in some aspects of their high school career. Teegan Sarver, shares her thoughts saying, “Bad grades are like a punishment for not being smart.” This sentence illuminates a larger truth about how the culture of modern schooling can distort a student’s sense of self worth and mental well being.
Student’s are constantly measured by grades, test scores, and class rankings. For many, these numbers can become a reflection of their value. As Sarver points out, poor grades are often viewed as a failure of overall intelligence, rather than simply the need for an alternative learning style. This mindset can potentially fuel anxiety and depression among our DHS students who feel they can’t live up to the expectations, even when they are doing their best.
However, the school system, specifically at DHS, isn’t doing everything wrong. Another student, Taylor Feistner points out, “The pressure is high, especially taking hard classes, but it’s nice that we are able to retake tests and summative grades that we didn’t do well on the first time.” This way, we can acknowledge that retakes take some of the weight of a bad grade off of our student’s shoulders. We are grateful that DHS incorporates opportunities to demonstrate mastery of skills that students weren’t able to understand the first time around. This is what school should really be about.
On the other hand, some students acknowledge that the aspect of our modern school system has its limited focus on practical life skills. “I feel like school should be teaching us real life skills,” Sarver notes. Many students graduate without understanding how to manage finances, pay taxes, or navigate the basics of adult life. “I know what some triangle names are, but I don’t know how to pay my taxes when I become an adult,” she adds. These ideas leave students feeling unprepared and anxious about the future, which can eliminate the very purpose of education: to equip young people for life.
That being said, the school system does equip our students with some necessary factors of life skills, such as hard work, determination, understanding responsibility, and understanding what it means to build relationships, such as with other kids and teachers.
Science shows that teenagers need more sleep than adults, at least around 8 to ten hours a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, but school workload and schedules can often overlook this fact. “Teenagers need more sleep than normal people, so the school system should let our first class start later,” Sarver argues. Early times and working hours on school assignments and studying can contribute to chronic sleep deprivation, which has been linked to severe depression, irritability, and even a lower rate of awareness for students in the classroom. Students are expected to perform at their best with the odds stacked against them. “Failure is a part of learning, but, to hardworking students, it feels like the end of the world,” Teegan adds.
However, the academic demand doesn’t end when the school bell rings. “Homework is important”, Feistner acknowledges, ‘But when students spend all of their time outside of school to study or complete assignments it takes away from their time with family, friends, and doing things they really enjoy while we are still young.” Constant studying leaves little room for social interaction or student’s own personal interests, both are essential for healthy development and overall mental wellness.
High School Students are often expected to overload their schedules with Advanced Placement Courses and weighted classes to improve their GPAS and college applications. “Many students feel pressured to take hard classes to get into colleges and often feel guilty if they don’t”, Feistner adds. This sense of relentless competition can lead students to burnout, anxiety, and feeling like the number is all that really matters in our education system.
Our students are important to DHS, and we as a student body can potentially agree that the modern school system must evolve just beyond grades and test scores. By focusing a bit more on mental health, general life skills, and a balanced workload, education can become a source of growth instead of constant stress. It’s time to listen to students and build a system that helps them thrive. not just academically, but as whole individuals to give our workforce healthy employees.
