Dear Beloved Teachers,

In elementary school, the week before Thanksgiving, we spent time reflecting on what we wanted to give thanks for. At the sme time, this the week that all the teachers pile on the homework, trying to cram two weeks of notes into two days. Fast forward to high school, and nothing has changed. This is precisely what is happening in some of my classes (cough AP Chem cough) because teachers do not want students going into their break and forgetting everything when they get back.

What the fail to remember is that we students remember nothing anyway.

For example, during my sophomore year, I distinctly remember having 13 assessments the week before Thanksgiving break. I can't imagine how many I'll have this year before winter break... Like teachers, I understand we are going on break but still, chill with the workload so I can sleep and not fail the class.

Yet you still continue to assign us project after project, test after test. My sleep levels dropped as low as my grades after that week. The stress will only continue to rise however, as the three weeks before the semester ends will continue to test us on how much we can memorize as opposed to actually learning the material.

Teachers, think about what you are doing to our mental health. Do you want kids sleeping in your class all the time, or do you want students who will actively absorb what you teach? That would be so much more useful to you and us than cramming in a high number of assessments for the grade book records.

Weeks like these show how the education system is all about the numbers and not about the actual learning. What does it matter if the students are so stressed out that they can't sleep. So what if they can't even talk to their parents because they have so much work. All that matters to the education system are results and numbers, and students will continue to back them up because they push themselves to the absolute limit.

Our mental health is now in jeopardy because so many of the people who are supposed to educate us can't remember when it's time to stop and think about how these pressures affect our well being.

This is a period of time in which we are supposed to be thankful for our family yet, we can't even see our family because the amount of busy work that we must conquer in order to complete a single task for one class. So, as a student and as a human, I beg you to think, just think about what you are doing to us.

Sincerely,

High School Students Everywhere