The end of the year is here, and academic burnout is as strong as ever. It goes by many names, such as senioritis, sophomore slump, and freshman games. It stems from students juggling academic pressure, extracurriculars, and social expectations. While laziness is a part of it, I think that it is not the primary cause of burnout, but rather a symptom that builds upon the cause.
AP tests and upcoming finals have led many students to enter slumps and lose motivation to put their normal amount of effort into their schoolwork and activities. Not all students are simply giving up, rather, some are running on empty, trying to meet expectations with energy they no longer have.
Classes and activities students normally enjoy can become more taxing than rewarding as the year wraps up.
Jacob Merrit, senior, said, “For me personally, it’s been theater. I feel like burnout’s been affecting me because I’ve been doing it for four years. It’s very constant. I think once you do something for so long and you get used to it, it becomes sort of repetitive, and burnout becomes easier. Then it just gets more tiring and less rewarding, then burnout happens again, it’s like a cycle.”
Skylar Atkinson, sophomore, said, “Because of things like volleyball, I’m missing a lot of school, so it’s already hard to keep up, but my motivation has been waning, so sometimes I just don’t want to do all the makeup work.”
I suffer from similar issues with track and newspaper. Lately, I have been in somewhat of a slump in both of my hobbies. Ironically, I had to fight my own burnout to write this article on burnout.
Burnout is primarily present toward the end of the 2nd semester and seems to only grow stronger with each passing year. While it can be very difficult to completely rid oneself of, limiting its effects is possible. Taking short breaks during large assignments, prioritizing good sleep, and learning how to say no to new commitments when your schedule is already overwhelmed are good ways to stop already-present burnout from becoming stronger.
Merrit said, “I manage burnout by just taking breaks, taking consistent breaks, making sure I just reset what room I’m in, changing where I am, just giving myself more opportunities to think differently about a situation. That helps with my burnout because it gives me different perspectives on the topic that I’m thinking of, which makes it more exciting.”
Lyla Carpetto, junior, said, “My burnout is very very bad, it’s definitely caused me to fall behind on a lot of my assignments. Which just stresses me out more because I have to do these assignments, but I’m so burnt out doing them just makes it worse.”
Mr. Moore, Assistant Principal, believed that one of the largest red flags he sees is when students appear more tired than normal. He said, “I make a concentrated effort to make contact, by simply saying good morning or hello, and from there I ask students how they are feeling and how their workload for the day is. Oftentimes students will begin to tell me what’s going on, their stressors and such.”
School will always be a lot of work, lots of work prepares students for the work their future holds. This work will at times be stressful and some stress is good, however too much stress will build upon itself causing serious burnout.
Mr. Moore said, “I think it can be a serious problem if not addressed properly, but first it has to be detected. The person needs to know what’s causing them the stress. You have to come up with a strategy, it’s a major issue when it comes to mental health and a student allowed it to go too far because sometimes the burnout that I see is that they overload their courses with APs and honors classes. They’re doing all this work and stressing out and all of a sudden their grades start to slip because they can’t do it all. If they accept they will be overloaded early on, they can ask their counselors if they can spread the workload.”
Time management can’t always stop burnout completely, however it can seriously limit the effects of burnout from growing more formidable.
Mr. Moore said, “Looking at how a student is utilizing their 24 hours. They can carve out specific time during the week, maybe from 6-8, where they work on getting all their work done and not touch their phone.”
Mr. Moore also recommended the ALC. “You also need to let your teachers know that you are struggling and possibly get an extension on an assignment or utilize what we call the Alternative Learning Center here at Leesville. They don’t miss class, but rather they go during their elective class where students normally pass with an A and work on assignments for classes that require more work. The key for the ALC is communicating with your teachers that you need that help.”
Moore also emphasized the importance of communicating with coaches and employers. “You might be able to communicate with your coach where they can give you a more independent workout, so you’re able to get your work done while still keeping to your athletic schedule. Students might also need to ask their employer to limit how often they appear on the work schedule to give them more time to do school work.”
Laziness and poor motivation are not causes of academic burnout, they are symptoms which build upon themselves causing more severe burnout and distress
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