SPRINGING INTO BURNOUT

During the last stretch of the school year, 64.1% of students reported feeling either extremely or very burnt out. With tests, projects, assignments, clubs, sports, and jobs, it’s almost inevitable that students will experience some feelings of burnout towards the end of the school year.

JAIDYN CALKINS DEPICTS A BUSY STUDENT DROWNING IN SCHOOL WORK; PHOTO BY JULIETA ORTIZ

In an article titled “Academic Burnout: How to Prevent It and What to Do” by University of the People, academic burnout is defined as a chronic long-term condition experienced by students characterized by negatively impacted emotional, mental, and physical health caused by a prolonged and overwhelming school load and can lead to lack of motivation, worsened performance in school, exhaustion, and frustration. While more common in college students, high schoolers can experience it as well. Having an overwhelming workload, not enough time to do schoolwork because of involvement in extracurriculars, procrastination, not taking adequate breaks, and pre-existing mental health struggles can all contribute to feeling burnout.

There are several symptoms of student burnout including losing interest in subjects you used to enjoy, lack of motivation to go to school and do homework, exhaustion, fatigue, feelings of anxiety or depression, headaches, stress, more frequently contracting illnesses because of stress, indulging in bad habits such as staying up too late or over/under eating, increased irritability, frustration, inability to concentrate, etc. Academic burnout should not be confused with short-term tiredness from studying a lot in one day. Rather, it’s an ongoing and severe problem for students. 

The Anchor staff sent out a survey to the student body across all grade levels to see if students at Clear Creek Amana High School are feeling burnout now and towards the end of the semester. After an initial survey, a couple of additional questions arose so a second survey was sent to follow up and gather more information. 88 students responded to the initial survey and reported how burnt out they feel, with 34.1% who said extremely, 33% very, 27.3% somewhat, and 5.7% not at all burnt out. The majority of students reported feeling academic burnout on some level, and there were very similar responses in regards to what is contributing to that. Common responses included having a lot of homework, sports, clubs, and other extracurriculars taking up a lot of time and not having time for schoolwork, trying to balance social life on top of that, ISASPs taking away advisory for the week of April 7th to April 11th, multiple tests on the same day, maintaining good grades, college classes, AP classes, and feeling like taking a break isn’t possible because of the overwhelming amount of schoolwork.

STUDENT BURNOUT; GRAPHIC BY JULIETA ORTIZ

59.1% of students said they feel like their schoolwork combined with other things such as sports, clubs, jobs, etc. is somewhat manageable. 22.7% of students feel it’s not manageable while 18.2% responded with very manageable. The varying responses are understandable considering how different students have different workloads and amount of extracurriculars they’re involved in. Students think that more breaks, less homework, bringing back the Wednesday student support, managing time and work better to prevent stress, and rewards for good grades and effort  for encouragement would all help to prevent academic burnout.

A few students also brought up the possibility of year round school. Year round school has both pros and cons, there would be more frequent breaks which would help with stress and burn out but that would take away from a long summer break, which some people would rather have.

The second survey had 76 respondents and it asked about their average amount of time spent on schoolwork each night. There was a lot of variation in the responses, reflecting the different workloads students have depending on what grade they’re in, classes they’re taking, pace and focus while doing homework, etc. The most common response was less than an hour, with 35.6% of respondents. Following that was one hour with 26.3%, then two hours with 17.1%, three hours with 11.8%, none of the students selected the four hour option, and finally 9.2% selected five or more hours. The majority of students, 61.9% combined, are either doing one hour or less of homework each night.

This is a little surprising and possibly conflicting with the amount of pupils who reported feeling burnout. But it is possible that the reason the numbers are not that high is because of being so busy with extracurriculars that they don’t have time to do homework or are feeling so burnt out that they can’t bring themselves to do more past a certain point. Students may be more likely to procrastinate and push homework to the side towards the end of the semester because of their feelings of exhaustion. However, sometimes it can simply be out of not feeling like doing homework or not prioritizing school. 

Also, it is important to keep in mind that some students depending on what classes they are in, may get assigned less homework in the first place, which is another explanation for the data leaning towards less amount of time spent on homework. Another possible explanation is that different people may have responded to the different surveys.

Students were also asked their opinion on the block scheduling, or A and B days. Most, 75%, find it helpful in  regards to getting schoolwork done and easing stress. The schedule is especially helpful when assignments are due the next class because it gives an extra day for busy students who are still learning how to best manage their time and balance school, family, social life, sports, clubs, etc. 

While sometimes it feels that burnout is unavoidable, there are things that can be done to prevent or help. At Clear Creek Amana High School specifically, the block schedule and advisory are helpful for students to have more time to work on projects, complete assignments, and study for tests. When communicated with efficiently, teachers tend to be understanding and accommodating when it comes to occasionally needing an extension or even just accepting late work. Wednesday student support was a great resource for students in past years but got removed this year and may not return. In general, one preventative measure for academic burnout is making time for hobbies and fun activities as it is helpful to keep your work-life balance, ease stress, and prevent you from overworking yourself. It’s also good to stay organized and set reasonable goals for yourself. While much easier said than done, avoiding procrastination and improving time management skills is also incredibly helpful. Taking breaks when you need to is also important. Knowing your limits and not taking on more than you can handle is essential as well. 

In relation to recovering from burnout, it’s necessary to recognize it and take a step back. Evaluating all the things on your plate is a good start, as it’s very easy to bite off more than you can chew, which will only make things worse. Sometimes, you might need to see what you can spend less time doing in order to make time for other things. Managing stress and getting adequate sleep can be hard during crunch time but it’s crucial to feel less exhausted.

Just like any subject in school, students are still learning how to best balance everything going on in their lives. While education is important, it is just as important to take care of yourself and your mental health. Students should do their best to manage themselves and take initiative for their learning while simultaneously valuing their mental well-being during crunch time.