The change from middle to high school is a big adjustment for any student, regardless of their course load and academic level. Being prepared for the academic challenges of transitioning to high school plays a significant role in the stress level of freshmen students. This confidence often comes from prior education systems. When these education systems do not prepare their students for high school, academic challenges and stress levels can increase. Education Incorporated’s 2010 research brief states, “There is a lot of anxiety among students and their families about the transition to a new school.”
Freshmen have differing views on how well middle school prepared them for this year.
“Definitely not,” freshman student Leah Shikher said. “I feel like we didn’t really learn how to study correctly and study efficiently, which is really affecting me now because I get to [it] a few days before the test and I don’t really know what to do.”
Another freshman student, Julia Pinto, felt differently on this subject.
“I think that with the independent projects, I wasn’t really prepared for that but for just, like, concepts and learning I think that I was pretty much prepared for that,” Pinto said.
While not first introduced in high school, independent projects still provide difficulty during the transition. These independent projects, where the work is individual, can significantly affect students’ free time.
However, each student’s perspective on their workload and how they adapt changes depending on who you ask. Jonah Rosman explains that he is a considerably stress-free freshman student.
“I have a lot of friends who are in some… AP classes, so I do hear that it’s more stressful because they don’t have as much time as I do to turn in those assignments,” Rosman said.
If you find yourself struggling with a high-stress level, Rosman recommends removing yourself from the stressful environment if possible as a coping mechanism. In terms of school, where it might be more difficult to remove yourself, it is also beneficial to create a stress-free environment, so you can take breaks.
On a scale of one to ten, Luisa Moran said she would describe her stress level anywhere from a four to a nine.
“It’s probably not the healthiest thing,” Moran said. “A lot of stress builds up during the day and then [at home] because of school and because of all the other stuff that’s happening.”
Student Council Association (SCA) freshman Emaad Ali expressed similar sentiments about how the school environment compounds his stress level.
“[The school environment] definitely does because [of] the fact that we’re always learning, learning, learning and… we get very small breaks,” Ali said.
He explains that the lack of time to process the workload also influences the quality of his work.
“Everyone suffers from that [lack of time] because, you know, when we don’t have enough time, then SCA doesn’t have enough time to prepare for things because we are busy working on other classes, and then things don’t go as well,” Ali said.
Although making time to complete schoolwork is very important, it is also essential to take time to avoid burnout. However, not all freshmen have very much free time.
“I get about six hours of free time per week because, you know, dinner, getting ready in the morning, going to bed… I guess that counts as free time.” Shikher said.
Even though not all freshmen feel like their schedule is as full as Shikher’s is. On top of this busy schedule, the school tries to ensure that everyone is involved in a club, sport or after-school activity of some kind, another commitment that some students struggle to manage.
“I’m a freshman senator, I’m on the W-L swim team in the winter, I’m on another swim team for NCAP [Nation’s Capital Swim Club], and then I have so little time to do tests and quizzes,” Ali said. “Right after school, I’ll be doing homework and studying for tests, then I’ll… go straight to swim, I’ll come home and have dinner, go to my next swim practice, come home and have like an hour to study.”
The school could improve the environment for students by understanding the fact that not all students are in the same situation regarding time for homework and amount of previous knowledge.
“I feel like just being understanding to kids,” Moran said when asked what the school could do to improve the workload. “It’s hard to have all this pressure because I feel like middle schools are… not preparing freshmen for this workload.”
