Olivia West, Reporter
@oliviawcourant
As midterms come to a close, so do the weeks of overwhelming stress, preparation, and sleepless nights. It’s no secret that this time of year is one of the most difficult in terms of workload and anxiety. However, as the school year progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that the weight of stress and poor mental health has become more and more pervasive in students’ everyday lives.
The school has taken various efforts to make midterms less stressful in an attempt to improve the harsh academic pressures that often affect a student’s well-being. This same idea has taken hold across the nation, with schools trying to increase mindfulness and health, thereby increasing student performance, through decreasing anxiety.
Eleanor Lapin, a sophomore, thinks that her high stress levels are caused by several factors, both self-inflicted and caused by the school. “Pressures from my parents urging me to do well, the aspect of trying to maintain high honors, and the knowledge that colleges will see what I do now all add up and contribute to my stress, especially in the weeks prior to midterms and when I actually take the tests,” she said.
While she admits that some of her stress is self-inflicted, Eleanor said that getting good grades and being overly stressed should not have to go hand in hand. Rather, the decreasing the stress of students should be a priority.
While Eleanor did participate in some of the stress-relief activities during midterms, she believes that more can be done, specifically on a day-to-day basis. “I think that if some of the techniques that are used to decrease stress during midterms could be put into the daily schedules of students, it would help everyone a lot,” Eleanor said, “I think that the school plays a big role in how kids manage their stress, and if it provides a positive environment in school, it will affect what students do in the future.”
Like midterms, many tests and projects in the classroom can cause anxiety. However, when a task catches a student’s interest, it has the potential to be less stress-inducing. Johnny Renda, a junior, specifically enjoyed an op-ed project he did during his sophomore year, which he wrote on harmful online content. “I was able to integrate things that were interactive, and that meant that I concentrated a lot of time on making my own graphics,” Johnny said. “This project, with an emphasis on something that I thought was really interesting, made the process of creating it different and less stressful.”
In the classroom, Zeeshaan Arastu, a social studies teacher, sees how stress can affect her students. “I think the expectation is that students should be able to do it all, but the reality is that there are only 24 hours to accomplish it all,” said Ms. Arastu. “We have to reckon with rebalancing our priorities. But, in order to do that; what are we willing to give up?”
Because of this stress, Ms. Arastu tries to provide assistance and guidance during the midterm studying process, as well as every day in the classroom. “In order to help my students cope, I try to lay out a study plan as early as possible and provide time and resources to help them study,” Ms. Arastu said.
She acknowledges that the school does a lot to support students, but Ms. Arastu said that there is always more that could be done. “Some ways NCHS can continue to address the level of student stress might include policies like limiting the number of honors classes a student can take, or limiting the time spent on school-sponsored after school activities,” Ms. Arastu said.
Assistant principal Kristi Carriero, who organizes the stress-relief activities during midterms, believes that stressed students benefit from the options that are provided to them throughout the week. “Our students work really hard and are extremely talented and we hope that these opportunities help put students in the right mindset to do well on their exams,” Ms. Carriero said. With options such as petting dogs and enjoying snacks, the faculty hopes that their efforts will lower stress.
Besides these activities, the school has implemented several methods over the past couple years in order to relieve stress on a day-to-day basis. “Some of the procedures that we have put in place over the past couple of years include no homework over vacations as well as no assessments prior to the start of exams, a mercy rule when confronted with multiple tests, and five days notice of tests,” said Ms. Carriero, “Perhaps we can create a committee of students, staff and parents, to brainstorm additional ideas that are feasible to do more regularly.”
The school is trying to improve the learning environment for the students. “At NCHS, we continuously work to create a positive climate for all students that they are proud of,” Ms. Carriero said.
