2 minute read

NO TIME TO STOP

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A student’s alarm blares in their ear. They hit the snooze button knowing they got no sleep last night as they stayed up coughing from the cold that is going around. However, they still plan on going to school that morning because they can’t afford to fall behind in their classes.

Advertisement

to the point where it’s just not taking care of myself,” CCHS junior Lily Gordon said. “There’s a lot of pressure coming from everybody in general where it’s like, ‘You have to get into a good college and to do that you have to take more rigorous classes.’ It gets to me.”

In a society that preaches the necessity of having at least a high school diploma to be successful, this intense cycle can and will run students into the ground.

BY ISABELLE GALIS Viewpoints Staffer

When someone is sick, they need to take the time to heal, but this isn’t an option for high school students with tests or new material to learn in class each day.

After an eight-hour school day followed by extracurricular activities, teens often have to choose between caring for their bodies or staying up late to study and finish homework.

A survey conducted by Research.com in January stated that 75% of American high schoolers and 50% of American middle schoolers described themselves as always stressed by schoolwork.

Whether students are sick in bed or staying up late to finish their work, many are driven by this stress to succeed. In a society that promotes “hustle culture,” the grind doesn’t stop for anyone, especially high school students.

This shouldn’t be the case. Students shouldn’t have to sacrifice their physical and mental health in order to keep up with their classes and perform well in school. For students at Clarke Central High School, this stress from the rapid-pace hustle is extremely prevalent.

“I’ve had nights where I’ve had to stay up really late to get stuff done and it’s

“Students have said that they’ll be sitting in class and feeling like (they) just want to cry, like (they) might burst into tears,” CCHS counselor Heidi Nibbelink said. “You have to be able to stay home (if you’re sick) and that’s true for adults. It’s not good for us to just keep going like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t miss a day or the world’s gonna fall apart.’”

How does a school expect students to produce good work when some lack basic self-care because of anxiety and school pressure?

Students shouldn’t feel like they’re going to fall behind when they take a day to take care of themselves. Although there isn’t a simple solution to this problem, schools should consider incorporating hour-long study hall periods into the day where students can complete homework to make time for self-care after school.

Hussle culture preaches the idea of always moving and always being productive, but it should be normalized to take the time to rest. To take the time to stop.

The way our society molds the way we do things is unhealthy and leaves no room for healing when something is broken.

This article is from: