Hi, my name is Ethan, and this is my third year participating in the Students Speak program. I am a freshman at a vocational school where I study digital & visual communications.
Today, I want to talk about a difficult transition that so many students face every year — going from middle school to high school.
I want to talk about this topic because every day, I see many of my friends and classmates struggling with the new challenges we face as high school students. Of course, no matter what year it is, going from middle to high school is tough — but it is especially tough right now.
We are all coming out of two school years that were impacted a ton by COVID-19. It was a lot harder to learn during these years. But maybe even more importantly, it was two years of missing out on socializing with our classmates and teachers — meaning we are all missing that sense of community that is so important to make it through high school. Right now, a lot of students my age simply feel overwhelmed by all of the new responsibilities and autonomy we have as high schoolers — and it feels like there is a lack of understanding between what the school administration expects of us, and what we are actually ready for coming out of this COVID era.
One example of this is grades. For grades in middle school, the stakes are so much lower than high school. This was especially true for the COVID years — it was practically impossible not to pass your classes. But now, at my school, the stakes are incredibly high. Two of my friends are already being sent out of my program back to their district school because they could not keep their grades high enough. It was hard to see them struggle and not receive much help from the school administration — so often, the solution was just to dismiss them and send them to the guidance counselor — instead of trying to better understand what was going on in their lives, and figure out how the school could help. A lot of the time, it really feels like the attention and help goes to the students who are already excelling — instead of the ones who need support.
Thankfully, I have stayed on top of my grades this year, and am proud of how I’m doing — but it is honestly still terrifying to know I could lose my spot in my program at any time. One reason why I am still stressed is that I have severe ADHD. I have never had a hard time understanding the material in class. But tests — which are 50% of our grade in High School — have always been an extremely stressful experience for me. Even if I knew all the answers, when I was younger I would just panic, put my head down on my desk, and not even be able to write anything. I’m doing better now, but that is mostly because I have figured out what works for me — not because the school has done anything different.
Right now, it feels like a lot of the attitude from teachers and school administrators is “you guys are high schoolers now, you can figure it out.” And don’t get me wrong — I really do appreciate being given more freedom as we get older — and I think it’s good we have to work hard in High School. I truly am really enjoying High School! I have the opportunity to explore so many things I am passionate about. For example, I am an artist — and for the next few years, I get to be in a program where I can gain lots of new skills to be able to spread and improve my artwork. It is so cool that I get that opportunity, and I am so grateful!
But after the last two years, getting thrown into high school really feels like we are in a shaken up soda can that’s ready to explode. Instead of focusing on harsh attendance and grading policies to force us to “catch up,” what we students need is for teachers to meet us where we are at — to understand what we’ve gone through, and help rebuild the community and the trust that we lost over the last two years.
This is why I ask that you continue to create safe and supportive schools in Massachusetts — so teachers and administrators prioritize understanding what students have gone through, instead of just pushing us to the next checkpoint — and so that students feel more capable of persevering through all of our biggest challenges.
