Give Students a Break
Staff Editorial
There are a multitude of things that cloud students’ minds, leaving them stressed; more days off or designated no-homework nights could
ameliorate this problem.
Mental Health Days
High school is hard. Five days out of the week, students are
expected to come to school for more than seven hours a day, be
given assignments and then return home, only to spend a few
more hours doing schoolwork. The work can stack up, creating a
great amount of stress. Sometimes, it’s nice to be granted a break.
A mental health day, in a school setting, is when a student or
teacher takes a day off for reasons other than a physical illness.
They may spend this day renewing their energy and relieving their
stress. Many people, including members of the Drops of Ink staff,
have differing opinions on whether mental health days should be
allowed at school.
Some Drops of Ink staffers feel that mental health is just as equal
as physical health, and it should be treated as such. Not allowing
students to take days off for their mental health only perpetuates
the negative stigma surrounding mental illness. Mental health
days don’t just have to be for people struggling with a mental ill-
ness, but they can also be for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed.
We all get homework, which means we all get stressed, and on
occasion, deserve a day off.
Should a student ignore their stress and still come to school, it
could negatively affect their performance. They might not be able
to focus on the lessons, and not being able to function properly
can only make them feel worse until they begin to start slacking
off on each of their assignments. Students who are unwell begin
to only live for the weekends -- when they are free from the
additional work -- which is no way to live. Having a mental health
day to rest can clarify a student’s mind and refresh them, helping
things fall into place, including their grades.
However, some of our staff believes mental health days might
Opinion
Photo and photo illustration by Olivia Devin
do more harm than good. Their number-one reason for this is the
amount of learning and work they are going to miss if they take
a day off. If you skip school to catch up on your assignments and
relieve stress, doesn’t missing a day only add to both of those
things? While that may not be the intention, it could defeat the
purpose.
Some DOI members argued that students should not be allowed
to miss school to focus on their mental health because it is not the
same as their physical health. When you are sick, you are taken
out of school because you are contagious, and you don’t want to
infect the other kids. Mental health isn’t contagious, and therefore
shouldn’t be treated the same.
If the school should realize the power of mental health days,
when should they happen? Is it up to the student to decide when
he/she should have a day off for their mental health or should the
school set aside specific days in the school year for a schoolwide
day off? The DOI staff argued for both sides.
One side said that it should be up to the individual because
mental health is personal and tailored to each person differently. If
there aren’t built-in mental breakdowns, there shouldn’t be built-
in mental health days.
The other side of the argument said that since missing school
isn’t ideal, having already designated days might help fix the
problem of extra stress and homework. One blanket day could
eliminate any consequences a student may have to face after
taking a mental health day.
Another potential solution provided was to have no-school days
maybe once a month, once a semester or after busy weekends,
such as school dances, to restore vitality.
20 Drops of Ink

“...The
school needs
to realize there is
more to life than
spending six hours
on homework
outside of school.”
No-homework Days
Schools around the world have begun to implement no-homework days
into their schedules to give their students a much-needed break from
schoolwork. Finland, ranked as having the best educational system in
the world by Scholastic, does not give their students homework. That’s
obviously not the case at LHS. However, if LHS is nationally ranked,
why don’t students feel more cared for?
Having no-homework days would allow kids to spend a few hours
a day or a weekend doing things they love. High school is a time to
explore interests and learn what we are passionate about, but it’s hard to
do that if we are cooped up in room spending hours on homework. The
time teenagers spend doing homework could be used for spending time
with family and friends, relaxing, or doing things they love. Not being
constantly at work could strengthen relationships and improve general
wellness. One DOI staffer pointed out that the school needs to realize
there is more to life than spending six hours on homework outside of
school.
Some members said that there would be a slim chance of the school
establishing no-homework days because our school is recognized by
colleges for its intensive program and prestige. Allowing students to
skip out on homework for a day or weekend could make our school look
soft in a sense and could potentially harm students once we reach an
advanced college curriculum. Plus, if students sign up for higher-level
courses, they should expect the loads of homework they will receive.
School's Job
While there are varying viewpoints on the benefits and drawbacks of
days without school or homework, the staff of Drops of Ink was unani-
mous in this decision: high schoolers are stressed, sometimes beyond the
point of what they can handle, regardless of if they are in regular or AP
courses.
LHS can and should play a role in helping manage this stress in and
outside of the classroom. This can occur by allowing students to take
mental health days with minimal consequences. The first step is to
understand the reasons a student may be taking the day off. This can be
Note: As this piece is a staff editorial, it is representative of the opinions of Drops of Ink staff as a whole. The staff is comprised
of LHS students from each grade level and spans a wide range of opinions from two class periods, with 51 students total. The au-
thor(s) of this piece did not place their personal opinions in the story; they merely reflect the staff ’s thoughts.
Opinion
done with the help of the student’s LST and communication between
the student and their social worker or counselor, for instance. Another
recommendation by staff members was allowing students a mental health
period, in a place like their LST, as a way to restore their energy without
missing a full day.
Outside of the LST, teachers can support students as well by limiting
the amount of coursework they give each night. As most teachers realize,
students are taking up to seven classes a day, meaning that their class is
not the only one students have homework in. That is not to say a teacher
should avoid giving homework completely, but rather to be considerate
and aware of this other homework.
Additionally, the DOI staff feels that there should also be ongoing com-
munication between teachers and students. Creating a relationship not
only helps the student to be heard and makes the class more meaningful
for them, but it helps to build a mutual trust and respect between teachers
and students, which could benefit both parties. If a student is having a
rough week, teachers could try to empathize with a student and maybe
provide an extension on a large assignment, or they could exempt home-
work given while a student is taking a mental health day. Now, there is
always the chance that students could possibly take advantage of these
options, but this should not be the only factor limiting the implementa-
tion of these options in the classroom.
Similar to the options provided for mental health days, staff members
suggested we have no-homework days on weekends during school danc-
es or other big events, weekends with holidays, or once a week or once a
semester. No-homework days could even eliminate built-in mental health
days, considering that a lot of stress comes from schoolwork. If the
school decides to give no-homework days, then teachers shouldn’t pile
on homework and tests the day before or the day after to compensate for
the lost day. A break from homework truly needs to be a break.
Although high school can be full of stress, there can be some things
done to give students a break and ease up on the pressure that constantly
strains students’ lives.
Tuesday
December
12
Mental Health Day
21 Drops of Ink