As the second quarter comes to a close, and exams loom near, students are feeling the pressure of their academic commitments. The question is: How are students handling that stress? 

While students’ most difficult classes have ranged due to personal preferences, a common factor seems to be the pace in which information is received and expected to be memorized, specifically in required classes, “…classes like AP computer science, Spanish, and English give a little too much work,” claimed sophomore Divaughnn Scherer. Senior Trae Gil solidifies this statement,

“My AP Government class right now is kind of insane”.

Class difficulty is an option all Liberty students have, however, the requirement of the course credit remains the same. 

A common dispute is a varying workload within each year, for instance, some may feel freshmen do not face the same workload as juniors or seniors. “I had less work my freshman year, but I was taking easier classes,” Scherer explained. Kadaj Johnson, a senior and active member in the Liberty Choir noted, “My senior year is easier than my junior year in my opinion, I was doing all the hard stuff…taking the ACTs…but for the most part, because I have open periods [now] it’s better.” 

Involvement in extracurriculars can play a big role in students’ stress levels and often have to balance class workload with their hobbies. Johnson has worked to balance theater, choir, and relationships on top of his already busy academic schedule. Likewise, Gil has been directing the school play, maintaining relationships, and enduring various AP classes, all of which are

“really overwhelming.”

Burnt-out students are not a new occurrence, so what can teachers or staff do to improve this trend of exhaustion? “Teachers specifically, I feel like just being engaging with their lessons, knowing their stuff, and just being understanding when things don’t get turned in on time or when there’s incidents,” Gil exclaimed. Johnson furthers this, he explained the importance of students being able to feel comfortable enough to be able to speak to their teachers about their stress levels and approach those conversations with a level of compassion.

“I feel like a lot of my teachers this year aren’t understanding,”

Gil confirmed. 

Overall, stress seems to plague Liberty students of all ages regardless of class type and remains a prevalent issue as we move toward exam season. The question is: will students continue to silently struggle or will efforts be made to compensate for their stress levels?