It’s Monday, May 10. I had one AP exam last week and have two more over the course of the next two weeks. I have two PBAs due this Wednesday and a few more which have not been given definitive deadlines yet. Sitting down to write this article is hard. The level of motivation that I have to do any sort of school work is seriously waning, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Toward the end of the school year, especially in the months of May and June as summer weather comes rolling in, students lose motivation to do their school work. At the end of the school year, in the midst of AP exams and PBAs, teachers should not give homework outside of PBAs.

While it’s common for seniors to experience a severe case of senioritis this time of year, students of all grades have a similar fatigue and feel it’s more difficult to get work done.

“As somebody studying for summer ACTs and SATs and working on PBAs, final projects, and in class work, plus being in the middle of a sport right now, less homework towards the end of this year would be much better for me and I’m sure many other kids can say the same,” junior Joe Mihalik said.

“I know they’re still going to assign [homework], but I’m tired,” sophomore Claudia Marino said.

“I’m constantly worn out and it’s hard to even look forward to weekends because I am caught up in an endless cycle of homework, classwork, and studying,” sophomore Tyler Kostick said.

The stress of a global pandemic on top of school does not make it any easier. A lot of people’s thoughts are occupied by trying not to get a deadly virus, so schoolwork has not been the top priority. At the beginning of lockdown last March, most teachers assigned less work and were understanding of the situation but it seems that sympathy has gone away. Despite the pandemic and widespread exhaustion, it feels as though there is more work being assigned, even though most students don’t have the mental capacity to do it well.

The best way to describe this sensation is just being done. Although we have not crossed the finish line yet, most students are struggling to conjure up the motivation to complete their assignments while doing other end of year formalities. A global pandemic coupled with the typical end of year exhaustion makes for an unmotivated student body. The only thing resembling a solution to this issue would be to have less work. West Essex teachers cannot cut back the AP exams and most classes are required to have a PBA so to have less work, teachers would have to cut back on or stop assigning homework.