Taylor Siebert

Despite the inherent inevitability of student burnout, there are many possible factors that contribute to the loss of motivation. Owen Smith ‘20 believes that one reason is the school’s

grading policy. “Maybe it’s because a lot of classes now are having optional homework, optional assignments, you can reassess how much you want, and turn it in when you want,” Smith said. “I think that that is to the detriment of the student body. I think that the school’s policies they are implementing will not help the student body and I think that is a major contributing factor to why student burnout exists.”

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However, instructional coach Mark Augspurger argues that standards based grading does not contribute to burnout and is actually better at preparing students for a college environment.

 “To some, it may seem not as strict, but that’s honestly more like college,” Augspurger said. “It depends on what type of student you are. If you were the student that never needed practice and homework was busy work for you, I think it’s going to be an improved system for you. If you are a student that needs the practice, now it’s on you to keep doing that and practice.”

 

Shreya Shrestha ‘20 believes burnout is not a result of the grading system but rather caused by students being expected to plan out their high school years early on. “Looking back at the

eighth grade ‘I Have A Plan’ where we mapped everything out, to be honest that was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done,” Shrestha said. “Nobody should have cared about it, but until the end of this semester, I had always planned on finishing all this math. The fact that if I don’t do Calc BC, does that mean I am failing my plan or something? I feel that we focus so heavily on becoming this one certain person that by the end of high school, it ends up creating this underlying resentment.”

 

Regardless of what classes students do end up taking, Chemistry teacher Dave Oldham says that the environment that students and teachers are in might be a reason for the lack of

motivation. “I think it’s hard for teachers or anybody in general to stay motivated when the people around them are not,” Oldham said. “So, if you have a teacher who is doing their best to teach the material, and half of the students are not motivated, then it’s difficult for that teacher to maintain the motivation that they have at the beginning of the year. Conversely, if the teacher loses motivation, then how can one expect the students to have motivation?”

 

Burnout is not unique to students, as teachers also feel a lack of motivation towards the end of the year. Psychology teacher Jesse Dowell is one of these teachers. “I’m burned out right

now,” he said. “If you talk to most teachers during the school year, they are probably putting in 50/60 hour weeks or more during the school year, so you just naturally run out of energy at some point.”

 

Teachers have various strategies as to how they try to combat this burnout. Oldham’s strategy is simply with his attitude. “If students are ever more excited to be here than I am, I’m

doing something wrong,” Oldham said. “Every day I try to approach the day and be excited about the material I’m teaching. I try to foster an atmosphere of being excited about learning.”

 

However, keeping that motivation can be harder as the end comes closer. School therapist Amy Ziegenhorn feels that one of the reasons for burnout is that students and teachers are

constantly searching for the last day. “We know that there’s an end to [the school year],” Ziegenhorn said. “So, like anything else, you look to that end. For most people, school isn’t the most fun ever, and so the closer you get to the end, the more you’re ready to be done.”

 

Ziegenhorn says that concept could be why seniors appear to be the most burnt out. “People talk about senioritis, but there is some truth to that,” she said. “They’ve been doing it this

long, [school has] been their whole life, and you can see [the end], and it’s almost unreal.”

 

Ziegenhorn also feels burnout is a result of students and teachers working hard for a long period. “I think there’s an exhaustion factor,” she said. “I think it’s the same for teachers. They

know that the end is coming, and they have put so much into putting the classes together, having a curriculum ready to go, and grading everything.  It’s almost like a sprint. They’re going and going and going, and they know it’s going to be done soon, so they do the same thing that you guys do. I think that everybody kind of plays off of one another. I think that you just run out of gas.”

 

Dowell believes that a lack of student motivation is related to the goals that students set for themselves and why they choose to accomplish them. He says that there are two types of

motivation. One type is extrinsic motivation, which refers to a physical reward, such as a grade or getting into college. The other type is intrinsic, which refers to the student actually being interested in the topics that they are learning about. “I think you have to tap into more [of] the intrinsic motivation than the extrinsic motivation.” Dowell said. “Cause what has happened is [if] they’ve gotten the college acceptance letter, then they’ve gotten their extrinsic reward. They’ve gotten the thing they needed to get, so now you have to play into what is intrinsically motivating.”

 

Yao is one of many students who has already received his extrinsic reward. “The end of March, when college decisions came back, and I basically knew what I was going to be doing and

that my grades didn’t really matter at all, everything kind of fell apart after that,” Yao said.

 

Spanish teacher Kari Gray has noticed that in her classes seniors do tend to show more signs of burnout before graduation. “It’s funny, for most of the school year, I have no idea if my

students are sophomores, juniors, or seniors. But, right now, I absolutely know who all of my seniors are because they kind of stop and are already asking about finals.”

 

Although many people experience burnout, there are ways to ease the effects. Ziegenhorn wants students and teachers to make sure they are finding activities that they enjoy to relieve

stress. “Make sure you take time for yourself,” Ziegenhorn said. “Have things that you can do that make you feel good, that rejuvenate you, that renew you, that allow you to relax. If you are constantly doing something, you run out of focus, and you run out of fuel. When you come back, you will feel a little more refueled, and that goes for the adults too.”

Ziegenhorn also encourages students to not schedule a stressful senior year. “When it comes time to schedule your senior year, don’t fill every class period,” she said. “Save some of your

electives for your senior year because if you have four AP classes and no open periods during your senior year, it’s going to contribute to that burnout. Go a little light, shoot for having some fun stuff your senior year so that you’re not under tons of pressure.”

 

Shrestha is one student who has felt the impact of an overwhelming schedule. “It was a lot of late nights and just me crying at like 12 in the morning trying to get all these projects and

homework and all these after-school activities done,” Shrestha said. “I wasn’t realizing how much of a toll I was putting on myself.”

 

Similar to Shrestha, Yao also found himself trying to manage a tough course load. Looking back, Yao realizes he missed out on some of the social aspects of high school and urges

students to balance school work with having fun. “You really only get to experience high school once, so it’s important to work hard and do your best but it’s also important to find a balance between having fun and hanging with friends, or else you will get super burned out and you’ll want to do literally nothing,” Yao said.

 

Even if it is becoming tough, Oldham encourages students to keep working hard. “For students, they just have to understand that hard work pays off, and the more disciplined you are

now, the more freedom you have later,” he said. “I tell my kids ‘You pay for it now or you pay for it later, but everybody pays.’ It’s much better to pay for it now and get after it. No excuses, be early, and hold yourself accountable.”