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Bellaire High School Students' Struggle With Schoolwork

By Zoe Kass, Bellaire High School, School Buzz Editor | November 5, 2018

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Zoe Kass' 19.6 pound backpack (sans computer). "You can literally feel the stress on your shoulders!" she writes.

The pile of homework sits on my desk. I bury my head in my hands, hoping that when I look up, the hours of work left to do will suddenly have completed themselves - the stress magically floating away. However, that is not the case. After all, as a Bellaire High School student, some amount of stress should be expected, whether it’s from schoolwork, sports, or social activity - the question is, how to manage it all?

“I really don’t,” laughs Abbie Hart, with a concerned looks on her face as I ask her how she manages the stress of Bellaire. “World Geo notes kill me every Tuesday. That with theater tech, Algebra 2 homework. Some days I stay up until 2 in the morning. It’s hard to manage.” As a fellow 9th grader, I can empathize with Abbie’s struggles to manage the rigor of Pre-AP classes at Bellaire, and the work that comes with it.

Some students, like 10th grader Miranda Chodzko, are more accustomed to Bellaire’s homework culture. “My AP classes stress me out the most. I really just have to manage my time better.” Perhaps a year in the trenches has helped the upperclassmen develop better coping skills than we freshmen have.

Senior Lior Lutfak said, “I plan out what homework I will do ahead of time and what I have going on during the week so I can plan my time accordingly. If I feel like I’m getting too stressed about an assignment or test I usually take a break and work on something else and then come back to it so I am more refreshed and not as frantic or stressed.”

Despite paralyzing hand cramps from note-taking, and blurred vision from hours staring at school computers, and sore backs from ever-growing backpacks, there is still supposedly a light at the end of the tunnel. Many Bellaire alumni claim that after their four years of high school, a college workload came easy. These words of solace were shared with me by Rice student and a Brown graduate who both attended Bellaire, as they attempted to liven the spirits of this struggling and stressed high schooler. I look forward to the day when I can say the same to a future generation of Bellaire students!