The Reality of a High School Student’s Workload

The first week of school. The time that inspires both dread and anticipation within the staff and students. The time in which both parties are getting accustomed to each other. This time is traditionally considered the most carefree moment of the year. Unfortunately, this assumption is wrong. 

On August 30, 2022, the first B-day of the year, I spotted a group of three tossing a ball for physics. By the end of the experiment, they had a quadratic rather than a linear set of data, which was not their ideal situation. While tossing a ball is fun, another group of students had a situation that was less than carefree. 

Upon hearing the rowdiness in the hallway, Ms. Cogswell, beloved science teacher of Carver, told them to keep the noise down. Her students needed to focus because, she declared the appalling fact, “They’re writing FRQs!” Most students who have taken AP Environmental Science, including myself, remember the horror of FRQs and watching time slip away from their grasp as they scribble down free responses.

Other classes are also moving forward with full vigor, jumping straight into the curriculum. Certainly, this year has been progressing faster than ever, and will continue to move ahead at a fast pace. More likely than not, us students will once again be spending sleepless nights whittling down on our heavy loads of work.