By Elitza Batchiyska:

Seven hours of school. Seven classes. Mountains of homework. Extra-curricular activities and sports. For many students, these are the least of their worries.

After the overwhelmingly long school day, students used to be able to satisfy their personal interests through enjoyable after school activities. However, now these extra-curricular activities just serve as a hindrance. Students can no longer enjoy their electives, sports or after school clubs for fear that they will not be able to complete their homework.

As a result, more students are stressed now more than ever. A recent survey conducted by the Associated Press/MTV showed that 85 percent of young people experience stress from school at some point, creating possibly the most stressed generation of teenagers thus far.

A recent forum held at Walter Reed Middle School consisted of stories told by parents about their stressed kids. The stories were shocking and often involved age groups that shouldn’t be experiencing stress at all.

Fifth graders stayed up late at night finishing homework. Third graders were suffering migraines and middle school students were forced to drop activities they love in order to participate in their schools’ gifted programs.

Perhaps many teachers and administrators will say that the late nights and headaches cause procrastination. But it’s possible that procrastination is the only solution most students can find to avoid stress.

After numerous parent complaints, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) finally released a new homework policy. The new homework policy only allows homework to account for ten percent of a student’s grade. High school students are also entitled to forty minutes of homework per academic class daily.

But, that puts the average student at nearly three hours of homework per night. So, is it possible that we are actually dedicating half our day to school? Let’s not forget that teenagers need about seven to nine hours of sleep per night in order to avoid symptoms of stress. Overall, this leaves no downtime, even for the pleasant educationally enriching activities.

In addition, juniors and seniors face even more stressful circumstances. Juniors are currently in their most crucial year of high school and face higher pressure to maintain good grades, as eleventh grade is the main year that colleges look at.

Seniors are currently facing the reality of college itself. Outside of school, they must fill out college applications, write college essays and study for college entrance exams, such as the SAT and the ACT. At school, they must deal with the stress of their fellow peers are dealing with as well.

However, it doesn’t stop there. College prep courses, such as Advanced Placement classes, are even more rigorous. Although Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) only offers about five AP courses for the entire school, it leads to even more pressure for students to take them all before they graduate in order to appear favorable in the eyes of college admissions officers in the future.

Stress is a growing issue for many high-achieving students and it should not hinder what they can accomplish.  If teachers are noticing that many students are beginning to fall behind in their class, they should acknowledge each individual’s situation and find ways to accommodate their needs.