Students go to school about 30 to 40 hours a week. That is a lot of stress placed on teenagers, and it affects their mental health in a lot of cases. HHS Office of Population Affairs states, “49.5 percent of adolescents have suffered a mental health disorder at some point in their lives.” Poor mental health often reflects onto many aspects of someones life. An unpopular opinion with lots of teachers is that homework should not be so common. School is for work, and our homes should be a place to have a brain break and relax. A lot of students stay up late to do their homework because they have so much to do, or they relaxed before completing their homework and lost track of time. While coming home and not doing their homework immediately is technically their fault, can you blame them for wanting to do nothing for a little while? Students go to school six to eight hours a day for five days a week. There should be a balance between work and rest.
KVC Kansas finds “that academic stress leads to less well-being and an increased likelihood of developing anxiety or depression.” This proves how stress can prevent students from doing the best they could have done. Teenagers have multiple classes, and a lot of the classes will give homework plus the work that needs to be done in class. Then there are some teenagers who go home and have to take care of the house for whatever reason, and that is a lot of stress and a lot to do. A lot of adults do not understand how we could be stressed because we are just kids. However, that is truly not the case. Yes, we do not have jobs, and we do not pay bills, but we still have a lot to do. School is hard, especially if you struggle in your classes, and some teachers are amazing and will offer you that extra help, but others could not care less. Most teens struggle with mental health and need help but do not ask. So, they suffer in silence while everyone around them needs them to be perfect and do all their work.
School is very important, but so is students’ mental health. How long until the school systems and parents start to make sure their child is doing well mentally. Bad grades are normally brushed off with a response like, “it is because of your phone” or “pay more attention in school,” but students are never asked if anything is going on that could be causing their grades to drop. Being an adult is hard, but so is being a teenager. Just because we are younger, our mental health should not be any less important. Everyone should try seeing what it is like for students to constantly be under so much pressure to do everything right in school.
