Students of Nashua North Express Concerns With Teachers Being Inconsiderate

Students of Nashua North Express Concerns With Teachers Being Inconsiderate

By Ashley Clegg, October 21, 2022

Students are falling behind on schoolwork, which has proven to be a consistent problem in the North community. Kids feel as though they are overworked and given unfair deadlines, while teachers seem to believe that they give plenty of time for their assignments to be completed. Between work, extracurricular activities, and school, students agree that they can’t keep up.

According to Are Students Overworked?, high school students spend approximately 86 full days on everything relating to school. That time mixed with work and outside activities becomes a real strain on the mental health of teenagers.

People have been placing the blame on teachers for not considering these stress levels. “Teachers should try to understand the behavior of students and why they react a certain way. From there, they can assign homework that fits them the most to avoid overworking them.” Tri Nguyen says, a former student of Nashua North.

If students can’t find the time to thoroughly complete formatives, then how are they meant to effectively get good grades on summatives? Then you have to consider time for extra help if they don’t understand the work, students must either attend that respective teacher’s e-block, or stay after school with them. This gets in the way of important endeavors outside of school.

When asked if teachers’ fight for better pay and treatment could be a factor in this disconnect, Tri says, “Absolutely, teachers need to be treated well too. Especially when they have too many students to take care of or too much work to do. They will feel stressed and that negative energy will pass down to their students.” Do teachers feel as though they are not in control of this situation?

In regards to whether the school system or the teachers are to blame, Justin Farrington, a former teacher, says “There were some assignments I had to give, whether myself or the students liked it or not. I was aware when they were hard or even unfair. And I tried to dial it back as much as I could, but I couldn’t adjust everything. I know that there are other teachers who aren’t super considerate. That’s why students compare teachers and decide which ones they love or hate. Overall, I think teachers do have a hand in this issue, but can’t be blamed entirely.”

Both students and teachers feel stuck. Nashua North students are putting teachers in one group, but in reality, it depends on each individual person. The most important factors to consider are that some students just don’t use the time given to them, and some teachers want to help but can only do so much.