The Elasticity of Stress
In a society where the norm is to go to school, start working at a young age, and participate in extracurricular activities, stress management and mental health get pushed to the backburner. Oftentimes, it is hard to deal with the overwhelming feelings that students and teachers feel alike. Even students that are in the top of their class struggle with getting everything done.
Homework is one of the main stressors for students that has been talked about for decades. A study from the University of San Diego found that students should on average have 10 minutes of homework per grade each night. Instead of a 1st grader having 2 hours of homework, it is recommended that they only have 10 minutes.
Homework can be beneficial, but for those students who have jobs or other obligations and responsibilities it can become challenging. There are many ways to deal with the stress that comes with managing these lingering tasks.
Isabella Renteria, a senior at Riley High School, is one of those students who has an extremely stressful schedule but takes the stress and workload in stride. Isabella is a standout student, ranking in the top of her class and in the running for Valedictorian, all while participating in 12 different extracurricular activities through the school building. Some of those activities include Mock Trial, Science Olympiad, and Quiz Bowl.
Isabella doesn’t let these extracurricular activities affect her school work. On average, she spends around 3 hours to complete her homework each night. This workload on multiple occasions has become overwhelming for her.
Personal forms of meditation have helped Isabella out greatly when it comes to managing the stress that she feels from the schedule that she maintains. When asked about what her meditation looks like, she replied “I would say my form of meditation is poetry or drawing. All of my friends and my family help me relax and make all of my stress go away because they allow me to feel like I’m enough so I don’t need to worry about everything that I have going on.”
With a strong group of friends behind you, managing stress becomes a lot easier. The distractions that come from just going out with friends, hanging out at parks or the movie theater, or even just sitting in a parking lot ranting about everyday life is something that can be so beneficial in the short run.
Another student, Evelyn Ringer, talks about the importance of going to school even while dealing with the stress that her schedule causes her. Evelyn is another student that is at the top of her class, tied for Valedictorian. Evelyn is involved in a multitude of extracurricular activities, such as the Notre Dame Trio Program, National Technical Honor Society, National Honor Society, Student Council, and Class Cabinet.
While Evelyn struggles with maintaining a positive attitude towards school at all times, she gave some great advice in the interview that was conducted. She said “I think it’s really important because I mean you have to like to learn things that you can do. Other things in life, society, really values it. How you are doing in school determines what you can do in life.” Even though school can be overbearing for Evelyn, she pushes through the challenges that come with learning and makes the best out of her situation.
Many times it is hard to find someone to push yourself to continue doing well in school while feeling the workload weighing on your shoulders. Evelyn took that step into her own hands and realized that she was the only person that could push herself to get to where she needed to be.
Evelyn pushed herself harder than anyone else ever has. She continues to push herself to be the best that she can be even if she doesn’t have the support necessary. She will always have herself to rely on, as she is her biggest motivator.
On the flip side, students aren’t the only ones that are struggling with the stressful day that school brings every week. Teachers are struggling as well. Whether it be unruly students, not enough time to complete grading or planning new assignments, or trying to manage work with their home life, the stress build up that is seen in teachers leads to many finding out that teaching isn’t the right profession for them.
Over the years, there has been a decrease of teachers in the teaching profession across America. Many teachers are leaving the profession to find more suitable jobs for themselves. Many younger teachers are coming into the profession and are hopeful that it will be different from what they have been told, but end up leaving anyway.
Teacher burnout is an epidemic that many school districts across the country are seeing. Teachers in the United States are experiencing burnout more rapidly than previous generations due to poor pay, a lack of attentive students, and an overbearing workload. The schedule that teachers must uphold lacks the free time that would be beneficial for their health.
Teachers at Riley High School experience this burnout throughout the school year. Teachers such as Mollie Wassner and Keiko Leonard have both experienced similar feelings when it comes to the overbearing workload. Leonard stated that she “constantly struggles with[attempting to separate school with home life] because there are not enough hours in the day to fulfill all the responsibilities of teaching, coaching and parenting,” compared to Wassner’s statement of “What I ended up having to do is that I can’t do the work at home because I get too distracted. I don’t have the time to do it at school. I went to Panera and spent about 2 and a half hours grading papers and going over all of the stuff that I have to do on Canvas. It was just a lot.”
Not only is teacher burnout prominent, it’s also hard for teachers to recognize when students are struggling. Teachers like Wassner have students who never pay attention in class and who are constantly on their phones. Phones are a big issue that are seen across the nation. They cause a distraction that teachers can’t battle. If someone isn’t paying attention and they miss something in class, the teacher will be to blame.
Students like to blame teachers for all of the faults that they incur, but it’s a two sided street. There is no solid blame to place on any one person. Stress is one of the main problems that is faced across teachers and students alike. There are many ways to deal with stress which can be as simple as listening to music.
Every time a student or a teacher gets stressed, the best way to deal with that is to just take a step back and relax. Relaxation is something that can be hard to maintain, but once you find that spot that speaks to you, it can bring all of those calming feelings that school is lacking.
If you are struggling with coping with stress or anxiety, the number for the national help hotline is 800-662-HELP.
