Student stress is one of the main reasons students fail or do bad in school. Consequently, many students face the challenge of managing stress and continuously deal with academic pressures. 

According to Ready Education, “Academic pressure is the often overwhelming stress and anguish that seizes students when they are expected to perform at a certain level of academic excellence. This sensation can be triggered by multiple sources, including parents, teachers, peers and even the students themselves, who are their own harshest critics.” 

Throughout the school year, students who have the most stress typically play sports or take a lot of AP’s. There are many different ways students handle stress; some have found different ways for coping with stress. 

“I handle stress by going for a drive in my car by myself, and I listen to music and sing along, which helps me relax. Driving is very therapeutic for me,” senior Alyvia Young said. 

Junior Emily Johnson said she copes with stress by “talking to someone I know, hanging out with friends, and taking a break from whatever is causing that stress.”

Having lots of school work while also having other commitments, like sports or work, can be very stressful for students. It can cause them to do bad in school or perform bad outside of school.  

“I manage my time by trying to get as much work done as I can during the school day. After practice, I finish up any remaining work. This way, I try to balance both school work and extracurricular activities,” freshman Abby Board said.

Students believe they should get as much help as they need from their teachers and counselors. If they don’t, it could result in the student feeling more stressed, which adds on to the decline of their mental and physical health. However, some students feel that they receive lots of support from these adults while others feel they don’t receive much help at all.

“[The support from my teachers and counselors is] alright. It’s not the best because I would ask for support and they wouldn’t help me. They would kinda throw me under the bus,” senior Will Townes said.

While on the other hand, some students say that they are receiving help that they need.

“I think [teachers and counselors] work super hard with kids to fix everything. I think it truly depends on the teacher you have because I have some teachers who help with everything and who give you less work and will actually talk to you, but I also have other teachers who just don’t care and say you have to do the work they gave them,” junior Kaylen Alexander said. 

Fairfax County Public Schools have put policies in place that make it clear that they are aware of these challenges that students face and make it a point to plan their lessons accordingly. 

“FCPS is already very accommodating and cognizant of reducing homework loads during breaks, curbing assessments (or allowing full-credit makeups) for observed holidays, and eliminating zero for reasonable attempts at graded items. Adults also try to gauge students’ stress levels and respect their self-advocacy for needed help.” Geosystems teacher Dr. Adam Hoo said.  

Teachers also have classroom norms that may be more lenient than FCPS’ given guidelines. 

“I don’t believe in homework. People are only kids for a very short period of time. If Covid taught us anything, social interactions is as important, if not more so, than academics. Kids need to be kids at the time that they can be. Once they hit 18, everybody is going to have higher expectations of them. Plus, they need to be able to hangout with their families,” Middle school teacher Deanna Doherty said. 

The new grading system has a big impact on students’ stress. Tests are worth 70% of your grade and in-class assignments are only worth 30%, which puts a lot of pressure on students to do well on every test. Therefore, having a teacher who cares about their students is even more important than before. 

“There are a lot of signs or stress… I’ve seen kids pick their nails, nap off when you talk to them… I’ve also seen them just not do well in inner classes because they don’t know how to prioritize which class to work on,” chemistry teacher Howard Paul said. 

Instead of asking for help, some students might show physical signs that they are stressed. It’s important for teachers to pick up on those signs and help as much as they can.  

“For the most part, I suggest that they [students] get more sleep, stay off those devices because social media is harsh. And then sometimes I just listen to them,” geometry and SGA teacher Pamela Cook said. 

Most students won’t ask for help when they are struggling, it is important that teachers notice so they can provide aid to their students. There are many different ways to deal with stress, and some ways that teachers provide to relieve these issues might not always work for students.  In conclusion, it’s important for students to know that their teachers care for them and have outlets available to mitigate stress inside and outside the classroom.