We asked teenagers if they were overscheduled, and how it would feel if they were able to slow down and do less.
"We have pushed high school students into maximizing every part of their days and nights," Tim Donahue, a high school English teacher, writes in the guest essay "High Schoolers Need to Do Less So That They Can Do Better." "We need to let them slow down."
In our Student Opinion question, "Does High School Need to Be Less Demanding?" we asked teenagers if they agreed. The answer, from nearly every respondent, was a resounding yes.
Students wrote in detail about their packed schedules and how those schedules are weighing them down. They also suggested some ways high school could become more manageable.
Thank you to those who joined the conversation on our writing prompts this week, including students from Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Ill.; Hinsdale Central High in Hinsdale, N.Y.; and Northwest Academy in Portland, Ore.
Please note: Some student comments have been lightly edited for length.
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Students told us their schedules are unrelenting.
On a typical weekday, I wake up at 6:30. I eat breakfast, pack my lunch, and get ready for school. I get on the bus at 7:40, and get to school ten minutes before classes start. I have three classes before lunch, and 2 after. On days I have after school activities (Tuesday and Wednesday), I get home at 7:00. On every other day, I get home an hour earlier. My teachers assign about 30 minutes of homework a day, which with 5 classes works out to 2 and a half hours a day of homework, more if there are larger projects. On my least busy day of the week, Monday, that means that if I work undistracted and uninterrupted, I get done at 8:30. That leaves just 2 and a half hours until I go to bed at 11 to eat dinner, get ready for bed, When I have extracurriculars or therapy, that's just 1 and a half hours. I would definitely say I'm overscheduled.
-- George, Portland, OR
High school is very demanding. My school bus picks me up at 7 am. School starts at 8:10, finishes at 3:10. I get home by 4 pm. I have so much homework every day that I spend about 4-5 hours on it. I am in honors classes and because of that, teachers demand a lot. Some don't even teach, just a short lecture and online videos. After that you are on your own. No time for questions or explanations. If you are late by just a few minutes with submitting your work, you get a 0! They keep saying it prepares you for life and college, but in real life there are no perfect people. Here, you can't make a mistake ... I have piano every week after school but I had to stop my sport activities because I would not have time for homework. Meanwhile colleges looking for well rounded applicants, with extracurricular activities, work, volunteer jobs, etc ... how??? I already do nothing at home other than work!!!!
-- Kira, Wayne, New Jersey
I do believe that high schools demand too much from us students. I specifically say this because my schedule has me waking up early, going to marching band practice, and then going to the rest of the school day, followed by cross country practice. Additionally, we have several competitions for marching band on Saturdays, and our cross country coach organizes mandatory runs on Saturdays, which takes away from time we could use to catch up on sleep or do family activities. Unfortunately, we sometimes have to leave early for cross country, cutting back valuable class time and learning, which puts us behind on homework, and cuts practice time for a test, both of which can cause dips in grades due to lower scores on tests and assignments. We get home from cross country meets anywhere from 7-9 pm, which means we have to eat, take a shower, and do any homework that is still due all later than the time that would be normally allocated to us.
-- Isaac, Iowa
My typical weekday as a high school student is slam packed with homework, class work, tests along with quizzes, and after school band ... I go to school and do hours of work, after school and weekends I have band half if not the whole day, then I have to cram in any homework all while trying to maintain a job. It's a lot, and like Mr. Donahue says, I do a "so-so" job and most of the things I just listed because of the fact that I have to juggle everything with such limited time. Therefore, I agree with Mr. Donahue in his argument that teachers, parents, schools, and college admissions departments should have a "collective pushback," this would loosen up the suffocating grip that stress has on many students and would ultimately make success more achievable because it would give us more time to manage the things we need to get done. These years are supposed to be the "best years of our lives," we need to make that statement true.
-- Kayleigh, Ellisville
And they said the competitive nature of college admissions was partly to blame.
The high school experience is becoming exponentially more rigorous for the average student, and it is causing more harm than good. This year is my junior year and I am in all honors and AP classes -- I wish getting all A's was enough to please the college advisors constantly telling me to do more. Grade inflation has been a driving force behind this. Getting good grades used to mean something, but as it gets easier and easier to slip by with an A in honors classes, more is required to show colleges just how amazing you are. Sometimes it seems every scholarship-winning-elite-school-attending student started a wildly successful nonprofit or cured cancer. I am pretty average among students at my school, but even I am in sports all year, attend clubs before school multiple days a week, and volunteer during my own time. Busying yourself to check boxes on a college application while neglecting time with friends and family can cause you to lose sight of what matters.
-- Jane, Glenbard West High School
Because the competition is increasing, high schoolers feel pressure to work harder and do more extracurriculars in order to get into a good college. Part of this is because more and more high paying jobs require some sort of higher education, or some sort of degree. I think that high schoolers are worried about their future, and therefore, they put pressure on themselves to work harder and demand more of themselves. Personally, I find myself accepting opportunities that may be a large time commitment, just because it would look good on a college application. I feel like I have not allowed myself to be a child and enjoy my teenage years because of the need to get good grades and set myself up for the future.
-- Serafina, Pennsylvania
Many told us their packed days were affecting their mental and physical health.
Due to the amount of school work I get assigned, I have had to sacrifice my mental and physical health at times in order to make a deadline. The transition into high school is a rough one, and it feels very abrupt. I am at every moment picturing how I am being perceived due to the standards that have been put upon me as a woman not only by the internet, but also by my peers. I find myself having to prioritize my grades over everything else, including social life, family, and personal enjoyment. It has been ingrained in my head that if I fail, I am forever a failure. I must be a perfect student and care more about grades on insignificant assignments than things I enjoy. I exist within the walls of my school, and even in those walls, I find myself feeling as if I am barely existing. I simply do not have the time to have fun, and when I do have time, I either spend it getting the sleep I missed, the meals I missed, or scrolling to mine for even the smallest hit of dopamine to change my mind and let me think that I may be more than my high school, but deep down, I understand that most of who I am and will be in my childhood, is a paycheck and a number to those in charge of my education, and by association, my readiness for adulthood.
-- Tallulah, NWA High School
Just like the article mentions, I do not have any free time after school to relax. I go to school, attend a club, and come home to start hours of homework every night. This leaves me wanting to stay up late just so that I can have a little bit of time for myself. Unfortunately, this leads to devastating effects, such as "depression, anxiety, migraines" (Doyne 1) which I have personally seen progress in my friends. The pressures of school are too much to handle, so students cannot do their best work as a result.
-- Jessica, West Chicago High School
As a high school student, being stressed out about school is common, which is awful for my development (brain and body). I am constantly stressed out about school and it's only counterproductive. If school was less demanding, maybe kids would develop faster due to a lack of stress and anxiety, and it would also be likely that kids would do better in school if they felt less stressed.
-- Constantine, HCHS
From sunrise to sunset, I'm running around a clock that never seems to end. Class, homework, practice, work, Repeat. But at what cost? Somewhere between the never-ending cycle of assignments and work, I lost track of what was important. Being a person. Research shows 61% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 feel stress over producing satisfactory grades. As one of those students myself, I can confidently say firsthand that it's exhausting. A normal weekday for someone like me looks like this: Sports, School, Sports, Work, Volunteering. Over and over again. I leave my house at 5:00 am and return at 9:00 pm. It feels like no matter how hard we try it's never enough. I spend more time in class than I do at my home. It's sad and in my opinion wrong. If schools were less demanding my life would be less stressful and I'd be happier. I feel like I would be able to enjoy life and live in the moment if I didn't have to constantly worry about upcoming tests or assignments.
-- Analise, Vancouver, WA
Some said they wish they had more time to explore their own hobbies and interests.
The increasing rigor of high school has forced many colleges to look past just the GPA of many students, further factoring in extracurriculars that match specific majors to ensure that students are in fact the best of the best. However, this increased pushed for more outside dedication to school has left myself and many others without time to focus on other activities that bring us joy.
As a senior, I have already taken my fair share of AP and honors classes, even going so far as to come into school 1 hour early to take gym in order to fit more classes into my schedule in order to stay with my peers. And with this increase in colleges wanting to see activities that line up with future career plans, I feel like I can never truly explore who I could be.
Extracurriculars are supposed to show colleges your interests, however, many expect those interests to reflect your intended major, forcing them into a box of finance or engineering before they even make it to college. While, I tried to focus my extracurriculars on activities I actually enjoy such as my school's radio and book club, even though I intend to study engineering, but that just left me feeling behind other students.
Lessening this pressure on students would let students express themselves without being left with this idea that they are already in last place before the gun even goes off and give them the chance to develop personalities outside of one subject, becoming more rounded people.
-- Maggie, Hinsdale, IL
I think high school should be less demanding so we can have a better balance between schoolwork and our personal lives. With everything going on, from social pressures to just trying to figure out who we are, the heavy workload can be really overwhelming. If classes weren't so intense, I could actually explore my interests and learn things that really matter to me. A lighter workload would definitely help me stay more motivated and engaged, rather than just cramming for tests. By making school a bit easier, I believe we could create a space where students can really thrive, both mentally and academically, and feel more prepared for the future.
-- Mateo, Valley Stream
Or, to simply unwind and relax.
High school is meant to be challenging and preparing you for college, but that does not mean it should be all consuming. Students should still have time to be children. Their days shouldn't be so full that they have no time to just relax ...
I constantly feel like I am operating at 1%: I get just enough done to be successful but have almost 0 free time. This leaves me minimal time to hang out with friends and family, and have a hobby. My schedule feels so full sometimes it's suffocating. A less demanding school life would allow me to do the things I enjoy, while also being able to complete my school work in a timely manner.
-- Maggie, Hinsdale Central
Some days it feels like I have no time to just chill on weekdays. Whenever I try, I have to rush on an assignment to get it done last minute, which makes me do less high quality work. So in summary, yes, I do agree that days should be shortened and the system should just be slowed down overall.
-- Kai, Northwest Academy
A part of Mr. Donahue's essay that resonates with me would have to be the part when a well-meaning parent talked about how they hardly see their child between school and extracurriculars. This resonates with me because as a student, as quality with my parents and family decreases with each new grade level I enter. This is because the amount of homework increases and my extracurriculars become more intense. High schoolers doing less would allow more time bonding with family over bonding with their phone.
-- Jameson, Massachusetts
At least a few students said they had struck a good balance, at least for the moment.
I don't think high school is that demanding. It is only demanding some of the time. For example, school starts early which means we have to wake up early. I think school could start later. Other than that, I don't have many extracurricular activities so I have lots of time after school to do homework plus the two hours that I have during the school day. I am also only a freshman so I don't think I have gotten into the difficult things yet.
-- Nadia, Iowa
My typical weekday is pretty packed. I go to school from 8:30 - 2:30. Then, I practice soccer at school everyday from 2.45 - 3:45, on Monday, Tuesday's and Thursdays I have hockey practice. Wednesday and Friday, I have school soccer games. Often, I skate Thursday mornings before school as well. I then come home work on my homework. When I finish I spend limited time in my living room with my family. I do think I am overscheduled, but I think it isn't always a negative thing for me. I shows me hard work and I don't like being bored.
-- Maggie, Massachusetts
And several suggested ways to make high school more manageable.
In my opinion, I think school work and school things should be done in school instead of having to take homework home or projects. I think this because we are already there for seven hours a day, then after school, most people have around a three-hour practice for their sport so we don't get home till later in the night which gives you no time to do your homework and stuff. Then you have to stay up till about ten at night to get that done then have to wake up in the morning for morning workouts.
-- Kyson, Iowa
I feel if high school is more laid back, and students receive the most beneficial assignments, even if it takes more time rather than more assignments that could be doing nothing for that student's education. This could be a way to make high school more enjoyable, and a time for students to grow in life instead of being so stressed about turning in all 10 assignments.
-- Ellie, Glenbard West High School
Additionally, schools can be modified to inspire students to appreciate learning rather than panic about it. To make this easier, schools should consider reducing homework, supporting mental health initiatives, and allowing more time for individual assignments. Ultimately, schools must create an environment good for learning. While students should face challenges, even the most dedicated can reach their limits -- so schools must strive to establish a supportive structure that enables all students to thrive academically and emotionally.
-- Connor, Union High School
I believe school-related things, especially assignments, should be both challenging and less frequent. Challenging assignments encourage students to learn and grow and work harder. However, Mr. Donahue states that "critical cognition, by definition, takes time," so these assignments should not be assigned so often. Giving students more time to work on challenging assignments will better ensure that they put in more effort rather than doing a "so-so job" before moving onto the next assignment!
-- Julia, Massachusetts
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