2nd Semester Ravaging Students

By: Carlos Camargo

April 3, 2024

As the third quarter continues, the apparent phenomenon of academic burnout is higher than ever. From observation to personal experience, the start to the second semester is rough and is hitting hard and lack of holidays doesn’t help! 

Academic burn out is something we all experience with, it’s like a common cold, it always happening at the worst time. The workload increasing due to SOL’S, SAT’S, along with the stress of the next year and course selections? Can we have a break already? It’s like beating a sleep deprived horse, wait it is! 

Most of us can understand the need to speed up to complete the curriculum before summer break, but why not warn us? The sudden petal to the metal, hit the ground running action is disorienting to a lot of students, even me! I had three tests in the beginning of the quarter in my in-person classes, not counting my online economics class. Imagine online Pre-Calculus? 

We have even more pressure for several external factors, like getting an A for majority of classes to avoid that dreaded final exam, friend group drama or college applications, whatever it is, we all have something looming over top of the pressure of grades. Teachers should at least empathize or understand why we are burning out, either that or we go on strike!  

The months of February, March and April are months devoid of holidays which is a brutal switch up from constant breaks and spontaneous holidays is the equivalent going from 5-star resort treatment to a shack in the middle of Manhattan. With such little time for a breather besides spring break, it’s no wonder why the 3rd quarter is universally considered the worst.  

The third quarter experience can be summed in one word, agony. With the increased workload, external pressures and the urge to give up and never work on another algebra question, the best thing to keep in mind is that the light is at the end of the tunnel.