While Thanksgiving break is often the highlight of the autumn season, it comes at a cost no one can deny. The week before, student’s lives are flooded with too many tests, projects and assignments to count. Why is it that at every supposedly “relaxing” pause in the school year, our mental health is sacrificed in just a couple weeks leading up to it?
Teachers are not allowed to give homework to students over the break. However, it seems that nearly everyone ends up with some kind of assignment that looms over them through the week off.
“I had three tests and four quizzes…I feel like all of our work is being rushed into one week, and we get so stressed right before [the break],” Freshman Indigo Jacobs said.
Of course teachers would want to finish units, chapters and lessons before their students forget everything they have learned, but cramming everything into five days may not be the best way to start off the holiday. Too many things have to get done in too little time, and teachers often do not have a lot of say in this.
“We missed two days of school, so now things are pushed back. I think there’s more work than there should be, but I guess teachers don’t want to do as much after the break,” Freshman Mia Greenidge said.
While we are not given any assignments to specifically finish over the holiday, students are told to finish all the long-term projects and papers before the last day of school, which is not possible for many high schoolers. This leads to everyone finishing homework over Thanksgiving, instead of spending time with family. With sports practice, jobs, studying and even more homework to complete in other classes, the task of finishing everything before break seems nearly impossible.
While students may be motivated to push through all of their schoolwork because of the excitement of the break just a few days ahead, for a lot of people, the sheer volume of work is often the cause of a mental breakdown or two.
“I feel overwhelmed and stressed because I’ve been up all night,” Freshman Noah Bialys said.
In the end, both students and teachers need to put in the effort to ensure that no one is under too much pressure the days before and during fall break. Whether it be by avoiding procrastination, doing work ahead of time, or talking to your teachers, there is a chance that your “break” could truly be a break.
