The
clock ticks mercilessly. Oblivious to the teacher, the teenagers
slowly drift into slumber during the middle of the crucial test.
Fatigue strikes once again. As the year progresses, many High Point
students find themselves with less energy than they possessed at the start
of the year. Those who entered the new year with zeal now find themselves
trudging through the drudgery of everyday life.
Nicky B. states,
“I’m tired every single day of my life. Everything seems harder,
from shot-put practice to guitar.”
Many students
blame homework for the added extra stress.
“School is
getting tougher as the year progresses,” says Robby F.
Students find
themselves staying up late doing homework. At school the next day,
they are drained and emotionally altered; they become tired and grumpy
people.
“I stay up
late every night and go to bed on average at midnight,” confesses Kevin
I.
Many parents
blame the fatigue on extracurricular activities and sports. However,
students say they are not enjoying the once fun activities due to school
related stress and exhaustion.
“I’m super
tired, which affects my [performance in] baseball games,” states Robby
F. He complains that he is less motivated to attend practice.
Junior high
teachers have an alternate view on the students' fatigue. The staff
notices that the eighth grade, in particular, starts slacking in their
studies at the beginning of the second semester after final exams.
Mrs. Zeiss
reveals, “Students have expectations that this is going to get easier.
But it doesn’t.”
Students experience a decline
in test scores. Staying up late at night, the students find themselves
cramming for a test. During school the next day, students are constantly
tired. They enter a downward spiral that detracts from their health.
The junior
high staff recommends the eighth grade stay motivated and complete the
year successfully in order to enter high school in full stride.
Unfortunately,
the students feel that they are too tired to complete the year with happy
steps.
How can High Point Academy
address this pressing issue? Students believe less homework and later
mornings would improve their energy level.
La Salle High
School has addressed this issue by having class begin later on Mondays
to give the students more time to sleep. Everyone at La Salle enjoys
this gratuity, and former High Point students express that they would have
loved that at HPA. In turn, students would be able to improve their
behavior in class and, hopefully, save their grades before it is too late!
--Merrick C. & Conrad U.
