Why Teachers Unrealistic Standards Are Damaging

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It’s safe to say that teenagers are under a lot of pressure in today’s society. It’s important that unnecessary stresses aren’t created and that all young people are encouraged to do their best, without overworking themselves. However, some teachers do not realise the workload and pressure that their students have. I decided to add up all the things I am told to do in a day. You should be getting 8 hours of sleep, then I’m in school for 7 hours, I am expected to do an hour of work for each subject (I do 8), eating time is about an hour and then an extracurricular activity to stay healthy and relieve stress (maybe 1 to 2 hours depending). That’s 26 hours, on a normal day. When is there time to go for a walk?, or read a book? It is such an unrealistic standard and means that students are pushing themselves past their limits to get all of this done. It causes anxiety, general stress, and/or depression. And then those who don’t do all of this are called lazy and “aren’t hard workers”. This didn’t even take into account teenagers who have to work. This is causing higher dropout rates, and higher resentment for the school system. The school system is rewarding people based on how much they kill themselves trying to get this work done. 

Teachers should be more conscious about the fact that we have other subjects and other things going on outside of school. Homework should only be given where it is necessary, not just for the hell of it. I once heard a teacher say “I need to find something to give you for homework”, if you need to “find” homework, it’s not needed. I’m glad to have a few teachers who listen to us when we say that it’s too much, or that we need an extended deadline. These teachers realise that if we have appropriate time to give to the work, it will be done to a higher standard. I think more teachers need to be aware of these issues, and help their students out a bit.