EDITORS’ NOTE: This article was submitted by junior Taylor Elias on behalf of De-Stress WHS.

Wayland High School takes pride in pushing its students to exceed academic expectations. However, at times, the stress placed on students by themselves, their peers, their parents and their teachers can be overwhelming, even if not intentionally.

As a civic action project in Daniel Gavin’s Honors United States History (HUSH) class, our group, “De-Stress WHS,” is working to minimize the stress students deal with by offering suggestions on how to reform certain aspects of the school. By targeting AP classes, flawed testing days and an excessive amount of homework, we hope to help the school move forward on a less stressful path.

AP Courses

Advanced Placement courses have rigorous curricula that stick to tight schedules in order to prepare students for one single test in May. De-Stress WHS believes that this form of learning is inefficient and students aren’t taking them for the right reasons.

Rather than taking classes that they enjoy, students often feel pressure to take the most difficult courses they are offered, which during junior and senior year are AP courses. The reward of being able to include an AP course on their college resume seems to be a satisfying thing for many and has become more important than their own well-being.

De-Stress WHS does not believe that WHS should get rid of all AP courses immediately, as many schools have done successfully. Instead we propose putting a limit on the number of AP courses a student could take. That way, they would still have a rigorous course load, but would not be overwhelmed. Rather than dealing with stress that comes from taking AP courses, all for the purpose of taking a test, students might actually be able to retain the information and take a few breaths in between.

Testing Days

As each quarter at Wayland High School comes to a close, there are testing days that teachers are supposed to follow in order to prevent students from having too many assessments on one day. Unfortunately, while the idea of this organization is ideal, the actual execution is unsuccessful.

The testing days back teachers into corners, often forcing them either to test before their class is prepared or too late in the curriculum, restricting the class from moving on. In other cases, teachers simply feel the need to test because it’s their assigned day, which can have negative repercussions for the students.

Conflicting schedules are not the only problem that arise from testing days. The current testing days do not distinguish what types of assessments can be given. De-Stress WHS also believes that a clear point distinction between quizzes and tests is needed in order to keep students’ schedules manageable. What would be considered a test in one class is considered a quiz in another.

Another issue is the lack of teacher to teacher as well as teacher to student communication. Teachers often do not know what goes on with their students outside of their own class and students also fail to inform their teachers of their hectic schedules. Eliminating testing days, encouraging more communication and creating a clear definition of quizzes and tests will reduce assessment-related stress.

Homework

In our hectic, fast-paced suburban lives, students are pressured to excel in school while trying to cram in any extracurricular or sport that they can.

Most students we’ve spoken to say they have around two hours of homework per night. Often, however, the time spent on homework exceeds two hours and requires students to stay up late, leaving them with minimal hours to catch up on their rest.

Students may be lacking sleep, but they’re hardly lacking stress. Example after example makes it clear that this unnecessary pressure and stress students are bearing has a devastating effect on their health. By reducing the volume of homework assigned to students each night students won’t constantly feel pressure – a positive step towards a healthier adolescence.

Weekends and holidays are a time to recuperate and relax; they should remain homework-free, with the exception of long term assignments.

As students of Wayland High School, members of De-Stress WHS understand the stress that arises in school. By pin-pointing three different areas (AP courses, testing days and homework) in the school that cause unnecessary and unhealthy stress, improvements can be made and practices can be reformed to improve the well-being and health of the students.

Do you agree? What other suggestions do you have? Check out our website destresswhs.org!