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First of all, I need to tell you: I am not a student. But I am the parent of two high school kids. Maybe it's because one of my kids is struggling and one of them is very conscientious, but it seems the stress teens have with finals is at an all time high!
When I was a student (a million years ago, to be sure), the week before finals was considered "Dead Week". Teachers were not allowed to give homework or teach anything new. It was supposed to be a week of study and review. Fast forward to now and it is a whirlwind of group projects, last minute tests, and teachers trying to make up for lost time.
This past week, my Freshman student had three group projects and two major tests. This kid did NOT wait until the last minute to do their assignments, these were projects that were just assigned. Trying to work with three sets of groups and studying for two tests meant my kid got, at most, 4 hours of sleep per night. This is too much for a teen.
Talking to other parents today, we are all saying the same thing: Enough!!! Schools say they want to reduce student stress. But when push comes to shove, letting teachers load students up with major assignments at the end of the semester shows that they just don't get it.
Bring back "Dead Week"!!! If high schools really want to help reduce student stress, they will not just "talk the talk", but will "walk the walk". It's time for parents to demand an end to this madness.
Why are we so obsessed with getting perfect grades? When did the teen years become this demanding? I know that some of the traditional rites of passage for teens are gone. There simply isn't time for students to have part-time jobs, or even to learn to drive.
The typical homework load of high school students is over 3 hours per night. Researchers at Duke University say that the maximum amount of homework per night should be topped off at 2 hours. Excessive homework leads to not only stress, but also physical problems. You can read a great article from the New York Times about the negative effects of heavy homework loads here.
What do you think? Are you a stressed out student? I would love to hear what students and parents are thinking about this.
I could say I'm a bit of a stressed out student, especially now since there's only 2 months left of school. We're currently juggling 1 research paper, 2 major projects, plus doing choreography for our school's (compulsory *cringe*) dance competition that's due in a week. Plus other normal homework our other teachers give us every few days. Yep, definitely stressed.:'( (I think we'll be given even more major projects from our other classes soon, though I do hope we won't.)
ReplyDeleteSee? I don't know what is being taught when everything is piled on like this. If you worked at a company and there is a deadline, other work is put on hold. Good luck with all your projects.
DeleteUgh, yes! It sounds like way too much. They should really bring back Dead Week. We still have that over here.
DeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading
Thank you! What makes me angry is that the school acts concerned about stress, and then turns around and lets teachers load the teens up with projects! I will be glad for my kids when this lunacy ends.
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