Students Thoughts on This Year.

Courtney Volavka, Reporter

The 2020-2021 school year has been tough for both teachers and students. With the pandemic, the online school, and the adjustment to hybrid learning, it has been stressful for everyone. Since it was the end of the school year, we thought it would be a great idea to see what students thought of this year, how they did, and what they hope for next year. We did a survey with 6 questions and 110 students responded. We asked on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being terrible, 5 being amazing) how their school year was for them academically. And, out of a scale of 1 to 5 how their school year was for them, mentally and asked to explain why. We also asked if the students could restart the school year all over again, what would they do differently? If they could give any advice to any future 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grader, what would it be? Finally, and what do they hope to be different next year vs. this year?

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being terrible 5 being amazing) how was the school year for you, academically?

On average, the students had a 3 out of the scale of how the school year was for them academically.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being terrible 5 being amazing) how was the school year for you, mentally?

Out of the 110 students, the average rating is 2.5 out of 1 to 5 for how the school year for them was mentally.

Please explain why you chose the ratings you did for question 1 and 2?

Most of the students chose their ratings for the how their school year was academically because some of the students have been doing well with their grades. However, there are a few who are having trouble because they struggle to learn with the amount of schoolwork they have and the fact that most students feel as though they are being rushed to learn and do the work.

When it comes to the ratings for how their school year was mentally, they chose their ratings because a lot of the students feel as though they are drained and have a lack of motivation. Leana Wilcox, a student at Lakes High School, said “I think for academically, the teachers tried hard for us to learn, but mentally I was drained.” Also, all the students have been feeling stressed with academics and their social life. The students feel as with the number of assignments and the number of things they have to learn in a short amount of time has taken its toll.

If you could restart the school year all over again, what would you do differently?

Some of the students say that they would not change anything. However, most of the students say that they wish that would not procrastinate, focus more on their mental health, and they were more motivated to do homework. Other students like Jayda Kim wish that they would try to interact more with their teachers and other classmates.

If you could give advice to any future 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grader, what would it be?

When students answered this question most of them said that they would say to make sure that they are on top of their grades and homework, do not do things last minute, and to make sure that they take care of their mental health. Audrea Gresham, another student at Lakes High School said, “Mental health is much more important than your grades make sure that you are in a good state of mind before you rush to try and be a straight A student.”  A few students have talked about advice about being social and having good friends. Paisley DeShazer, an 11th grader, said “Find a group of people and stick with them. Popularity does not matter one bit.”  Jamerson Stephens said “Come at high school different because everyone wanna be the same.”

What do you hope to be different next year vs. this year?

When it came to this question most if not all of the students said that they would like to be in-person. Students even said that they wished that everything goes back to normal. For example, Evan Oroho said “Hopefully were in school next year so I hope we can go back to the most normal we can.” A few students like 12th grader Zerzafire Miguel Francisco stated, “I hope that 12th graders next year would at least get a decent senior year that Covid-19 has taken away from me.”