Many High School students today have expectations that are out of this world and are expected to keep up with so much in so little time. It is that time of the year when everyone is dealing with finals, SOLS, and exams and many students find that teachers do not account for the work that other teachers give them, extracurricular activities, and other family-related events that they have on their plates.

Adults today say students have it easy and have nothing to complain about, but that is not true. In fact, it is statistically proven that school today is the hardest that it has ever been. Many of these expectations are unrealistic because for a student to be a “good student” they have to take multiple AP classes, maintain straight A’s, do sports year-round, have a social life, and maintain healthy relationships with their friends and family.

This can however take a very dark turn because exam stress is one of the leading causes of suicide among teens today and it is sad to see that something like an education can cause teenagers to resort to this. Homework also causes students a lot of stress because after participating in sports and other activities, they have hours of homework to do, which leads to them staying up into the wee hours of the night completing assignments that will not benefit them in the long term, but is homework really necessary? This question has been asked by experts no one is really sure what the answer is. Many argue that it helps students understand what they are doing in class better while many say it is a waste of time and builds onto the stress that high school students in the United States already face. You might say that high school students have nothing to be stressed out about, but that is clearly false because the pressure they face from teachers, parents, sports, and college is overwhelming for 14-18 year-olds with a still developing brain.

We hope that our leaders in education in the government change something soon and make sure that the education system becomes more balanced and less stressful for students.