TGIW- Thank God It’s Wednesday

It’s Sunday night- you know what that means. A dark cloud has rolled over Brewster, encompassing it in its entirety, not predicted to pass until at least Friday afternoon. Umbrellas and raincoats are a necessity- torrential downpour of homework assignments up ahead, a light dusting of long-term projects, potential tornadoes of pop quizzes, small assessments, big tests…

Each day begins with a ray of hope, only to be blackened by the dark dungeon doors of the school when they close and lock at 7:49 each morning.

Inside the building frazzled students scurry through the halls during rush hour, not to escape incoming storms- but to bravely walk right into them. Scrambling to find and receive credit from the previous night’s homework starts the stress level at just about the maximum. As the time passes, the muscles of the students’ faces slowly droop, the jaws gone limp, the eyelids wearily flutter open and closed. Jolted awake by the instructor’s key phrase ‘homework’, the students take their cue and rapidly scribble their many tasks for tonight in their ironically small assignment pads. The sound of the bell signals the time to scuttle to the next class, sit down, and repeat.

Now the real fun doesn't begin until the students actually arrive at home, whatever time that may be. They unpack their school work with a shovel and a smile, ready to dive into a deep puddle of homework to prepare themselves to be able to learn tomorrow about all of the work they will have to do the next night. They wade through their books, folders, notes, binders, reminders, coming up for a breath of fresh air only when absolutely necessary. They press on, diligently working for hours on end, completing assignment after assignment, studying for test after test, and in attempt to satisfy every classes’ needs, look back and find themselves with a teeny dent in a hefty job. At times it is discouraging, but the students, like trained soldiers, trudge on. There is no option but to continue when there is work to be done. Although it may cost them sleep, sanity, happiness, relaxation and stress-free time, it is worth the reward in the end, right? The dark purple circles under their eyes from 5 hours of sleep a night, the hints of scoliosis from hunching over a computer screen, the coffee addiction at age 16, it’s all worth it, right??

But is it really worth it?

Those who simply do not care, just don’t do the work, and therefore don’t stress over it. They lead bland, mindless lives. They always will. But at least they make it through High School somewhat unscathed by the massive workload that buries others alive.

Those who strive for success, overachievers, wunderkinds and the like kill themselves to get the work done. Every spare moment is crammed with homework. In the rare times the students aren't doing homework, they are spent worrying about what homework they have to do, when they will do it, if they will get it all done on time. And when they set their minds to it, they literally will work to finish it even if it kills them. The results are gratifying- but costly nonetheless. Good grades result in reassurance of a good college education, which results in reassurance of a good life. There’s no stopping now. The stressful days and sleepless nights ensue.

But what if it didn't always have to be this way…

The sun would shine even in school, the rain would cease and there would be no need for storm cellars to hide in from impromptu tornadoes. The students would walk through the halls with excitement and eagerness to learn. The student sponges would absorb all the information, and the small space in the assignment pad would represent the endless possibilities- what to do tonight in order to improve the well-being of myself as a person?

The eye-bags could slowly evaporate, the backaches stretched away, the coffee replaced with a complementary, all natural, good nights sleep. The students could get a job and sign up for a club they have interest in and join a gym and do yoga and spend free time with family and it would not cost them a stitch of their mental or physical health.

It is not entirely out of reach either.

By simply implementing one night a week where teachers can gift their students with the absence of a single homework assignment, the students can work toward benefiting their life in a different aspect than just intellectually. The workload here at Brewster High School allows for little time spent anywhere else. If students could focus on just the homework to keep up with the curriculum in one class, the understanding would grow exponentially as there would be no need to prioritize. Yet, there is no way students could take only one class, it is unrealistic and inefficient, therefore when the multiple AP classes, various Pre-AP, advanced and extra classes each begin to assign homework, projects,quizzes, tests, it becomes overwhelming. The overachieving students prioritize based on which work they can do at midnight and which they must do with a rested mind. In addition to that, there is always the possibility that the student is a student-athlete, in the school play, has a long bus ride home, etc. Time is basically a negative quantity by now. There is barely enough time to complete the countless assignments given each night, so how could they possibly have enough time to do anything else?

One stress free night isn't too much to ask for, and if it keeps the students from falling off the brink of mental insanity and extreme sleep deprivation, who wouldn't want that? Perhaps this would just create even more stress on the surrounding days to make up for the night off. All of the teachers would begin to plan tests and quizzes around this night off, potentially resulting in even more stresses all on the same day. The studious students would be guilt-stricken the entire Wednesday night, knowing they should be doing homework, studying, reading, something.

But that is precisely another perk of this ‘night off’. For the few who feel well rested, and don’t need to rejuvenate the mind and body, their free time can be spent actually getting ahead, what a novel idea! They could work on extra credit for some classes, or optional work to improve their understanding, and start a long term project. No matter how this Wednesday night is spent, as long as it does not involve officially assigned ‘homework’, students are allowed to be stress-free for once.

The students who care work year round, 180 days in school, approximately 1170 hours, not including time spent outside the classroom. Those who give 110% in everything they do constantly push the limits of their mental and physical health to achieve intellectual greatness. They complete every assignment, pay attention in every class, and make learning their priority. The least the teachers could do is reward them with a night off.

These students deserve one night a week- Wednesday nights- to relax and catch up on life outside of school. They deserve to have the stresses gently lifted off their shoulders by teachers for even just a night; they deserve to be able to say “Thank God It’s Wednesday”.