As the semester comes to a close, students are feeling additional stress as deadlines approach. Students are struggling to meet deadlines and therefore falling behind. Students are asked to balance in class assignments as well as online tasks assigned on Schoology. 

Students in study hall as well as Magnet were interviewed in a recent survey. In the first hour study hall on average students are assigned 12.4 Schoology assignments in a week, with an average of 2.8 missing. In Magnet students are assigned 9.08 assignments on average with 2.16 missing. When comparing these groups about 20 percent or one-fifth of assignments are overdue. These missing assignments put stress on students and therefore cause them to fall even more behind.

Assignments racking up can lead to feeling overwhelmed. Students also have other priorities and extracurricular activities, which can lead to falling behind in school. Many students are involved in sports, work late hours, and still try to balance school. The feeling of having so much going on is overwhelming and emotional. Many students hit a point in time when they are so far behind that the will to do the work drifts away, and they develop a lack of motivation for trying to balance school work and other activities and events. Cell phones also play a factor in students falling behind or struggling to meet deadlines. 

Many students at OHS are feeling overwhelmed with school work while also trying to balance other activities.  Students that are involved in activities or work a job are more likely to fall behind. A recent article in Time magazine said, “Despite the NCAA’s insistence that it is concerned about student athletes’ academic growth, it often feels as though ‘Student’ plays second fiddle to ‘Athlete’.  Junior Mikayla McGurran said, “I feel overwhelmed because I don’t want to miss an assignment to affect my grade but I am still trying to stay involved in other things and balance activities.” Many other students are in this same situation. They value their school work and meeting deadlines, but are struggling to do well within their school work and balance other activities. Being involved is a valuable thing to students and important to their morals. Junior Kalli Nelson said, “I have a lot of additional school work as the end of the semester is approaching.” Throughout OHS, many students are feeling added stress as deadlines are approaching.

Teachers within the school feel there are other causes of this stress unrelated to the schoolwork. Some believe the cause is lack of motivation or other distractions. FACS teacher Ms. Erica Wilson said, “They have a lack of motivation. Cell phones are a distraction and correlate with mental health.” This poses the question of whether there’s a bigger problem behind students falling behind, potentially cell phones or another common activity. History teacher Ms. Laura Epland said, “I am not feeling any added stress with regards to grading assignments”. As a teacher she is not feeling any added stress but shows concern for her students. She said, “I’m more worried about students who seem to think they can wait until the last minute to make up missing tests or turn in late work.” The concern is valid as many students are struggling to manage their time wisely. 

Students falling behind and struggling to meet deadlines is an ongoing problem throughout OHS and other schools. There are various reasons as to why students are missing deadlines, and it varies from student to student. Regardless of why, it is clear that this is an ongoing issue for students. Students are encouraged to ask teachers for help to ensure they are getting their assignments done on time. If students need additional help, they are also encouraged to reach out to any of the school counselors for support.