Are High School Students Being Worked Way Too Hard?

 Sophie La Nave

Dr. O’Brien

Language and Literature 2

September 26, 2023

Are High School Students Being Worked Way Too Hard?

At first, I thought I was of two minds with this; simultaneously believing students could handle the work given to them, but that it was still too much work. However, the more I think about it, the more I know, just because you could do something doesn’t mean you should. When given homework, expected to do extracurriculars, being in school for hours, eating dinner, spending time with family(on occasion-when/if you have time), and sleeping- it becomes impossible to balance living and learning, and yes, when it comes to the American education system, these two things are separate. I must admit, as someone who does theater, during tech week, I spend more or equal time at school and at home, on average(including hours asleep). During tech week(the week of/before the performance), I am at school spanning from about 8:00 am till around 8:30/9:00 pm. My days at school span from about 10 hours long(8:00 am - 6:00 pm, on normal theater weeks), to 13 hours long. Not to mention, I spend approximately 3 hours doing homework and studying daily. So, I spend, on average, 11.5 hours at school, plus 3 hours doing my homework at home, so in total I spend 14.5 hours working/exerting high amounts of energy. Although it’s true that doing theater is my choice, it’s also true that it’s not really a viable option to do what you like when the stakes are your mental and physical health. Not to mention, high school students are expected to take on after school activities; sports, jobs, hobbies, etc. When it is expected of you, such as studying, it becomes a moral obligation and perhaps even a desire, one which we cannot so quickly abandon. So, highschool students are left to over-exert themselves. So, yes, high school students are worked too hard.

Although highschoolers spend a lot of time working, what about when they aren’t working? How much time do they need to sleep? Highschoolers are typically teenagers, meaning they typically need a ton of sleep; roughly 8-10 hours(AASM). When asked how many high school students don’t get enough sleep, the cdc states: “About 7 out of 10 (72.7%) did not get enough sleep on school nights”. If highschoolers can’t get enough sleep, and are risking their health, schools shouldn’t push them too hard, because school already takes up so much of the day, and more importantly, students are risking their health by not getting enough sleep. It’s possible that the reason they sleep so little isn’t directly related to school, maybe they want to watch tv at night, or want to do a hobby, but no matter what I’m left to ask: why didn’t they do that earlier? They probably spent a majority of their time doing something related to school; homework, taking classes, studying, extracurriculars, etc. Even when activities don’t directly relate to school, my(as a highschooler) life is dictated by school, because school controls my time.

If school wasn’t working students too hard, students would be happy at school, right? At least they wouldn’t constantly feel tired. According to Britta Belli from Yale News: “High school students reported negative feelings 60% of the time.” So, if students feel constantly drained, something in their lives must be a common denominator, and at the highschool age, highschool is my life. High School is all of our lives- till college hits. If more highschoolers were happy with high school(our lives), I’d be led to believe maybe it’s a different aspect of our lives that we all have in common that leaves us drained- overworked, yet I don’t have evidence to support that it isn’t highschool that is the common problem.

In all, I wish school weren’t so draining, but it is. High school overworks us, and I’m tired of the assumption that this is just a middle stage of life that isn’t to be lived, but to prepare to live when college/life comes around. Well guess what! THIS IS LIFE. We are alive right now, so please let us live. High school is overworking us, which we can tell through lack of sleep, and a general feeling of hatred or tiredness towards high school. High school, give me a break.

Works Cited

Belli, Brita. "National survey: Students' feelings about high school are mostly negative." YaleNews, 30 Jan. 2020, news.yale.edu/2020/01/30/national-survey-students-feelings-about-high-school-are-mostly-negative. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

"Sleep FAQs." Sleep Education(AASM), sleepeducation.org/sleep-faqs/#:~:text=Children%203%20to%205%20years,24%20hours%20(including%20naps).&text=Children%206%20to%2012%20years,12%20hours%20per%2024%20hours.&text=Teenagers%2013%20to%2018%20years,10%20hours%20per%2024%20hours.&text=Adults%20should%20sleep%207%20or%20more%20hours%20per%20night. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

Sleep in Middle and High School Students. Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion . centers for disease control and prevention, www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/features/students-sleep.htm#:~:text=Importance%20of%20Sleep&text=The%20American%20Academy%20of%20Sleep,10%20hours%20per%2024%20hours. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.