The Brain Drain

There you are, you are going to third hour, but this is your least favorite hour, because this is the hardest class there is. This teacher gives out the hardest assignments, teaches the hardest material, and no one ever gets an A. Nobody likes the assignment, the projects take 5 days when you only have 2 to get them done, and everybody spends 5 hours a night on just that class. 

Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but still everybody has that one class that they dread. You wake up in  the morning, eat breakfast, get ready to go to school, and see your friends. Some days, you don’t want to see anybody, and you want to stay asleep just 5 more minutes. But, everyday, you wake up, and loathe the fact that you have to go to that one class, the one class where you understand nothing, and then have homework. Homework that you really don’t understand, and spend hours on. 

It’s class time, you get there early and try to understand class, but the more the teacher rambles on, (or maybe it is just you who thinks that) the more you get lost. You know that you can ask questions, or come in at recess to try and catch up. But no matter how hard you try, you just can’t understand what the heck the teacher is talking about. 

Hard classes can have lots of hard homework. And studying a lot can have some bad consequences. According to scholarsed.com, “Studying hard is often considered necessary to earn high grades. In some ways it is, but when it becomes excessive it can actually be harmful to your child physically, mentally, and academically. As your pre-teen transitions to high school or as your teen prepares for college, it’s important to start encouraging healthy study habits so they don’t burn out.” Some of the hardest classes require the most studying. And over studying can be bad for you, and burn you out. So sometimes, you need to take breaks while studying, or if you can, put some studying off until tomorrow. 

Now, I know almost everyone would prefer an easy class over a hard one. But really hard classes can also have benefits to them. When you succeed, you will feel good. You will feel even better than if you just pass a normal class. Like when you get an A in any class, you feel good. But when you get an A in an advanced class, you feel even better. Like when you shoot a basketball, you feel good when you make it, but you feel even better when you swish a shot. Another benefit of hard classes is the fact that they can help with harder things in life. When you complete a difficult class or just a task, you get the confidence and courage to try harder things. And the solutions and working methods you used, can also help with future tasks. 

Everybody has a different subject that they struggled with. So I asked some people what the hardest subject in their grade was, and here are the most common classes mentioned. In 8th grade, the hardest subject is ELA. I interviewed 8th grader Logan Wiegand. I asked him what the hardest class in 8th grade was, and he said ELA. I asked him why ELA is so hard, and without hesitation said, “all the assignments.” He then said that there is lots of hard homework.

In 7th grade, it is Pre-Algebra. I interviewed 7th grade student Finn Hoffman, who had a similar view. I asked him what the hardest class was and he also said Pre-Algebra. Then I asked him what made Pre-Algebra so hard, and he responded with a nice long “Ummmmmmmmm”. Then he went on to say that it was a lot harder than last year, and there are a lot more variables.

In 6th grade, Math was the most mentioned. I did an interview with 6th grader, Sam Eastman. I asked him the same question and he responded with math. He thinks it is hard because he gets bored, and “it’s bland” (Sorry Mr. Bayer, I had to put this). 

In 5th grade, it was Math with the most votes. I interviewed 5th graders Crey Leman and Benni Shrock. They both said that math was the hardest subject. Their reason for this is all the work they have to do for this class. There is a lot more work than the other classes. 

Okay, so it’s the big test. This test is the deciding factor between whether you pass or you fail. You know you have been struggling a lot recently, so you studied twice as hard and twice as long. You feel great about the test. And then you get to the test and either, you remember everything, and you do good. Or you forget everything you studied, and you know an F is coming your way. And some of what is on the test, you have never seen, and you try to understand it. But you just end up reading, and rereading, and rereading the question over and over again. But you’re lost, and making no progress on the test. Then out of the corner of your eye, you see a couple kids get up and turn their tests in. And that is when the worry starts to kick. You check the time, 10 minutes until class. You have 30 questions left. You start sweating, and before you know it. BAM! 5 minutes left. You have 10 questions left, you try to get done in time. Time is your enemy, but finally, you defeat it and get your test done right before the bell rings. You’re proud of yourself for getting it done on time. But you’re not proud of your answers. Be honest, we’ve all been there. 

Everybody is always going to have that one class they never want to go to. But no matter how much you dislike that one class, they are there for a reason. Not to annoy you, not to drive you crazy, not to take up all your time. They are there to prepare you for the future, and the difficult tasks ahead of you. The teachers don’t want to make their class the hardest or the worst. They want to prepare you for the future, which is only going to get harder. No matter how difficult, you can overcome it, and once you do, you will feel awesome. Don’t give up, you can do great things. You can always overcome, and don’t you ever forget that.