Firstly, I want to apologize for the lack of complaining you’ve received from me recently– unless you’re my parents, they’ve dealt with enough of that already. How hard it must’ve been to have gone this long without my quick witted complaining, I know. 

But enough talking about your suffering, let’s talk about mine. Recently alongside every other student here at Stafford, I have been drowning in schoolwork and cramming to get everything in before the utter paradise we call Spring Break begins. But before we get to the calm eye of the hurricane, we have to deal with the genuine torture that precedes it.

The week before Spring Break seems to be teachers’ favorite time to cram in as many assignments as physically possible. Every class assigns a test, a project, a tiny little unit guide that is worth 70 points. Anything they can do in order to slowly descend every student into total insanity. 

But that’s not my problem. I understand that teachers have to get in as many assignments before the school quarter ends. My problem is when teachers assign every sudden chore– sorry, I mean assignment– before break ends, and then complain about how much they have to grade. 

So, why assign the students so much work if teachers are going to complain about grading it regardless? 

Students have eight classes all riddled with assignments, and our teachers expect us to prioritize their class the most. We have so many responsibilities to balance because of school, and some students have even more outside of school like working a part time job. We’re basically working a nine-to-five, and we’re getting “paid” with “knowledge”. And if you’re a teacher reading this, I assume you scoffed out loud reading this lousy, overused excuse made by students.

In all seriousness, balancing eight different classes, eight different curricula can be laboriously daunting.Sometimes I wish I’d have eight arms like an octopus– one tentacle for each class, I could get it done eight times faster (because that’s how that statistic realistically works). 

Our high school years are meant for creating elaborate plans to fake illness. We can sneak into the city with our friends and visit a fancy French restaurant and visit an art museum, and miraculously sprinting home coincidentally in time before our parents get home. Instead, we have to suffer through endless Calculus tests. Not as fun once you compare those two. 

Us students understand that teachers are in desperate need of this break just as much as we are. So, when we all think about it, wouldn’t it just be more convenient for us to color in pictures of Mount Rushmore for APUSH or watch the Leo DiCaprio adaptation of Romeo & Juliet for English? Seems like a happy fun time for everyone. A time to get calm, cool, and collected before the school purgatory, also known as exam season, starts. 

But no. Teachers think it would be more fun to assign a test every day until break starts. The amount of all nighters I’ve pulled have begun to make my eyebags just as heavy as my schoolbag. My concealer is putting in over time.

So please, every student of Stafford is sincerely asking to let loose just a little, and enjoy a stress free week before break starts. We all know the teachers want that too.