Scanning the naviance account, awaiting that terrifying, death-defying moment whenever you see your extremely visible class rank number at the bottom of the page. Everyone has had the heart-leaping gasp seconds before viewing their class rank.
The overbearing stress of class rank tends to weigh down the shoulders of many. It can be seen in the hallways and classrooms as students look sad when receiving a “bad” test score and their eyes glaze over as they freak out with anxiety.
High school should not be a stress parade every day. There should be limits to the amount of homework teacher’s give students and staying up until the wee hours of the night should not be acceptable. Students in high school need sleep and a stress-free environment, but are probably among the most stressed out and tense humans on the face of the planet.
The amount of homework given each night to students is immense and that does not ease the load a student at Bowie carries around with them. The typical Bowie student is probably also involved in extracurricular activities of some sort, which add even more to the stack of stress.
There is also the factor of backpacks, which seem like they weigh tons. Because Bowie does not believe in issuing lockers from the vast supply all around the school, the students are stuck with carrying around a backpack that more than takes a toll on their shoulders and back.
Heavy backpacks only further increase the amount of stress in a student because they are not only juggling multiple things at once mentally, but physically carrying a backpack full of wonderful things like the textbook for last night’s homework and today’s test.
All of these factors; backpack weight, homework load, and extracurricular activities put more pressure on gaining an acceptable class rank.
Our class rank is always looming above our heads as if a cloud waiting to rain on our bright day. There are days when we feel as if our class rank does not matter and then there are days when it does.
The stress of class rank can be so overbearing to some students that they stay boarded up all weekend in their homes attempting to study until they make that perfect grade.
Why study so hard? What is the incentive? A great college and job in the future, yes, but why? Why is success measured by the college you attend or job you go to every day?
There should be an incentive to learn and take the knowledge and use it to your ability in the world full of depths beyond imagination.
It is not about the grades you get in high school, it is about the amount of knowledge you have grasped a hold of. If you have achieved a clear understanding of the world, high school has prepared you. Class rank should not hinder a student from achieving what they believe is their calling or from enjoying themselves from time to time.
Honestly, we should all just relax a little and try to live our life while we are young.
Yes, college is right around the corner but if our shoulders are so tense we will never enjoy our lives for what they truly are. In the movie, “Dead Poet’s Society”, strong advice is given of braving the world to his students, “Their world is your oyster, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they are capable? Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day, make your lives extraordinary.”