Academic burnout has been stigmatized Elise Hsu A student begins the school year anticipating an academic challenge. However, as weeks go by, the student grows increasingly stressed, staying up late and skipping meals to do homework. Soon, they have trouble focusing in class and late assignments start to pile up. One night, the student checks their planner, dreading their lengthy to-do list. After noticing they have four late assignments and a report due at midnight, they throw the planner and begin to cry, lamenting, I can’t do this anymore; why did I ever think I could? This student, like many others, is struggling with academic burnout. According to Florida National University, burnout is a state of prolonged stress that causes physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. Although burnout can be caused by excessive amounts of academic work, it can also appear in other places, such as romantic relationships and parenting. According to Psychology Today, burning out doesn’t just happen overnight; it slowly creeps up on someone without them noticing. For example, a student may brush off early signs of academic burnout as a normal amount of stress. However, by the time someone acknowledges they are burned out, their symptoms may hinder their functionality on both a professional and personal level. This means a student could be missing class frequently and struggling to turn in assignments. Academic burnout is already manifesting itself in Carlmont students. In a 48-student survey comprised mostly of juniors, 62.5% of respondents said they felt unmotivated to attend and participate in school. Of that percentage, 86.7% also said they felt unproductive this school year. Of course, the pandemic
plays a role in these results; for many, distance learning has increased workload and decreased interaction with classmates. Teachers also play a role in facilitating academic burnout, whether they know it or not. They may assign a “reasonable” workload for their class, but their students may get the same amount of work in other classes, adding to their burden. During the pandemic, some teachers have even increased the amount of work they assign, believing students stuck at home have nothing better to do. But students are actually quite busy; they have to balance their homework, family time, and other activities outside of school. To help students, teachers should regularly check in and adjust their curriculum to suit their needs. This way, students feel less stressed and teachers know how to help them succeed. However, students may be hesitant to tell someone else if they are burned out. They may believe that asking for help exposes weakness; it actually demonstrates strength, since it shows that one is willing to acknowledge their shortcomings and work to amend them. And discussing burnout isn’t just reserved for teachers; a student can choose to discuss it with whomever they trust. When it comes to burning out, support from others is necessary to recover. To further decrease the stigma associated with academic burnout, teachers should make it clear that they are there to support students who may feel overwhelmed. Many students feel as though they are alone in their struggles, and offering support lets them know that someone is available to help. Academic burnout can be very damaging, but if students know they have support, they can work towards reigniting their motivation.
18 HIGHLANDER OPINION
