Why School Shouldn’t Be Stressful

In a regular week, students are expected to be in school roughly 35 hours (7 hours per day, 5 days a week). This accounts for almost a quarter of every week of a student’s life, which adds up to over a 1,000 hours per school year. If a student were to miss a few days of school, that student is falling behind on their work and may be ill which only puts them at a further disadvantage.

If you do the math, students spend most of their time at school. If not, they are doing their homework, playing in sports, participating in extracurricular activities, or working a job. No matter how they chose to spend the rest of their time outside of school, many students are extremely busy.

When I was in high school, I rarely missed school, worked at my parents’ daycare, and was a leader in the marching band as well as a part of the band council and music honor society. For me, school was simply something I needed to do day to day and something I needed to complete. I wouldn't put all of my energy into my learning because I was easily overwhelmed and desperately wanted a break.

Now, as a future educator, I know that school can be a high pressure environment which can make students feel defeated and unmotivated. This is why I strongly believe school shouldn’t be stressful.

School should be engaging, informative, and inspiring. Yes, it should challenge students but not to the extent that the young learners feel intimidated and incapable.

To avoid stressors in my future classroom, I hope to make the space a comforting and inviting environment. I want my classes to be excited to come into my room and learn something new they care about. I contemplate time to time whether I want to really enforce homework, since I know some times it can be tiring and unnecessary.