An illustration shows a high school student stressed and crying due to school-based pressure. The societal norm of “hustle culture” has negatively impacted students at Clarke Central High School. “After an eight-hour school day followed by extracurriculars or a job, teens often have to choose between staying up late to study and finish homework or getting the amount of sleep they need and taking care of their bodies,” Viewpoints Staffer Isabelle Galis wrote. Illustration by Antonio Starks
The harsh academic pressure of high school leaves students choosing between prioritizing their grades and GPA or their physical and mental health, creating an unsustainable lifestyle.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A student’s alarm blares in their ear. They hit the snooze button knowing they got no sleep last night as they stayed up coughing from the cold that is going around. However, they still plan on going to school that morning.
They can’t afford to fall behind in their classes.
When someone is sick, they need to take the time to heal, but this isn’t an option for high school students when they often have tests or new material to learn in class each day.
After an eight-hour school day followed by extracurricular activities, teens often have to choose between caring for their bodies or staying up late to study and finish homework.
A survey conducted by research.com in January of 2023 stated that 75% of American high schoolers and 50% of American middle schoolers described themselves as always stressed by schoolwork.
An infographic shows prominent statistics about mental health in youth and the impacts of academics on mental health. The societal focus on “hustle culture” has placed an unhealthy level of stress on students. “Hustle culture preaches the idea of always moving and always being productive, but it should be normalized to take the time to rest. To take the time to stop,” Viewpoints Staffer Isabelle Galis wrote. Infographic by Maya Shrivastav
Whether students are sick in bed or staying up late to finish their work, many are driven by this stress to succeed. In a society that promotes “hustle culture”, the grind doesn’t stop for anyone, especially high school students.
This shouldn’t be the case. Students shouldn’t have to sacrifice their physical and mental health in order to keep up with their classes and perform well in school.
For students at Clarke Central High School, this stress from the rapid-pace hustle is extremely prevalent.
Whether students are sick in bed or staying up late to finish their work, many are driven by this stress to succeed. In a society that promotes “hustle culture”, the grind doesn’t stop for anyone, especially high school students.
“I’ve had nights where I’ve had to stay up really late to get stuff done and it’s to the point where it’s just not taking care of myself,” CCHS junior Lily Gordon said. “There’s a lot of pressure coming from everybody in general where it’s like, ‘You have to get into a good college and to do that you have to take more rigorous classes.’ It gets to me.”
In a society that preaches the necessity of having at least a high school diploma to be successful, this intense cycle can and will run students into the ground.
“Students have said that they’ll be sitting in class and feeling like (they) just want to cry, like (they) might burst into tears,” CCHS Counselor Heidi Nibbelink said. “You have to be able to stay home (if you’re sick) and that’s true for adults. It’s not good for us to just keep going like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t miss a day or the world’s gonna fall apart.’”
How does a school expect students to produce good work when some lack basic self-care because of anxiety and school pressure?
Students shouldn’t feel like the world is going to fall apart when they take a day to take care of themselves. Although there isn’t a simple solution to this problem, schools should consider incorporating hour-long study hall periods into the day where students can complete homework to make time for self-care after school.
Hustle culture preaches the idea of always moving and always being productive, but it should be normalized to take the time to rest. To take the time to stop.
The way our society molds the way we do things is unhealthy and leaves no room for healing when something is broken.
