When high school students are overworked and undercared for

You might be wondering, why should you care about high school students' workloads? I'll tell you why. Well, according to a 2006 study done by the University of Mary Washington, there are two reasons why you should care: The first has to do with happiness; a 2001 study of more than 30,000 students 18 years old and younger showed that over-worked students reported lower levels of happiness and wellbeing as compared to those with less responsibilities (i.e.

no jobs or extracurricular activities). Second, this refers back to your own child or younger relative; according to the same study, in high school, average grades for students who worked 15 hours per week or less were higher than those of students who worked more than 15 hours per week.

We have a lot of homework

When high school students are overworked and undercared for The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new policy statement calling on parents and educators to reduce the stress and anxiety that many young people face in the United States. The statement cites research showing that the U.S. has become an increasingly stressful place to be a teenager, with more than half of high school students reporting feeling anxious or depressed at least once in the past year.

The AAP is calling on parents, teachers, and policymakers to take action to reduce stress on teens by limiting homework loads, increasing sleep time, and reducing screen time. The AAP cites recent studies showing that teens who get less than eight hours of sleep each night are more likely to suffer from depression; as much as 75 percent of adolescents report feeling tired during the day because of insufficient sleep.

The group also suggests that schools should limit homework loads so that students aren't doing their assignments after school into the evening hours when they should be sleeping. Finally, the AAP says schools should do their best to reduce screen time — not just for younger kids but for older ones as well.

We still have time to procrastinate

As a teacher, I can see the impact of this trend first-hand. I have students who work two jobs to support their families. I have students who are taking care of younger siblings because their parents are at work. I have students who are going to school because they know it's important, but they'd rather be doing something else.

And I have students who are exhausted by the end of the day and need me to cut them some slack when they're late turning in homework or missing class because they were up all night studying for an exam. And that's just what happens in my classroom. It's not just my students; these trends affect every student in America — affluent, middle-class and poor alike.

The problem starts with overworked parents and children trying to keep up with each other's schedules. Parents are working longer hours than ever before and often feel guilty about not spending enough time with their children — so they tend to overcompensate by scheduling them into their own busy lives as much as possible.

We’re stressed

As a high school student, I have to deal with a lot of stress. Between homework, extracurricular activities and tests, I barely have time for myself, let alone for my friends and family. Being a high school student is hard work. We get up at 6:30am every day, go to school all day long and then come home and do our homework.

It’s no wonder that many of us feel like we are undervalued by our parents and teachers. The pressure to succeed in school is not always coming from your parents or teachers. It also comes from yourself. When you think about what you want to become later in life, it can be overwhelming.

But when you look at your peers who are just as smart as you are but are doing better than you at school or sports, it can be discouraging. That’s why so many of us suffer from stress-related illnesses like depression and anxiety disorder.

We take care of ourselves?

We're working hard to prepare for college and/or a career. We take care of ourselves, our families and our communities. We volunteer in our communities, we tutor younger students, we tutor each other. We're not lazy or entitled — we're busy and productive. We are overworked. Most high school students are assigned more than 20 hours of homework per week on average.

Some students have as many as 30 hours of homework per week. The amount of homework that's assigned, especially during the weeks leading up to final exams, has been increasing over time. As a result, students are spending less time with their friends and family, doing hobbies they enjoy or just relaxing after school because they don't have enough time left in their day to do all the things they need to do without sacrificing sleep or health due to stress from their workloads and lack of time management skills.

We aren't getting enough sleep either. A recent study showed that more than half of high school students get less than seven hours of sleep each night on weeknights, which is below the recommended amount for teenagers according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

To Sum Up

While teachers do everything in their power to help their students reach academic and personal success, not enough is being done from the administrative level. Easy course loads that challenge students are a wonderful idea but they still lack the extra time spent on the curriculum which never fail to create the most successful students.

This is the main conclusion that a teacher can draw when observing the work load of high school students today. While our nation's schools strive to improve grades and test scores, high schools continue to pile work upon work. Students lose valuable time to pursue extracurricular activities and grow as people outside of academics.

Students deserve better conditions both in and out of the classroom but they are often left on their own to determine what these situations should look like.