As most of the academic year has passed, the students' attitudes towards school have changed. It’s no surprise that some things might have gotten easier or harder over time because of covid, for which GZAAT’s teens had to be prepared and quickly adapt. Sophomores, Class of 2025, currently have their first normal year of high school. They were the only class that had to write the entrance exams online, start Junior High online, and spend most of their Freshman year in face masks while only being in the building for a few hours. Because of this, they missed out on experiences that others usually had and bonded over.
However, this year is an exception since they finally have the opportunity to get used to both the exciting and challenging parts of high school. As they adapt to double blocks, longer lessons, and longer school days, they can finally say what it’s really like to study in this school. It’s interesting what each of them can say about their new experiences. By now, near the end of April, most Sophomores are complaining about loads of work given to them - homework, tests, projects, etc. They have also started Career Council meetings, which are overwhelming for the majority and make them anxious for their future.
In order to get more details from them, a survey was sent out to the sophomores to find out how they were feeling during this period of the year. As the survey shows, most of the tenth graders think that the second semester has been more challenging than the first one, which is natural since the beginning of the academic year is always much easier to handle. The rest mostly answered that the difficulty in the first and the second semester is the same, which affects them a lot since many pointed out how they have lost motivation to do the best they can, so they do whatever and hope for the best. The upcoming summer was also mentioned frequently as the reason to keep doing well.
On a more negative and sad note, around 55% of the respondents stated that lately, the stress coming from school resulted in their moods being lower than before. When asked whether they’re burnt out from school, half of them answered yes, while the other half answered that they aren't burnt out, but they don’t feel at ease either. However, even if the second semester seems hard on them, most claim that this hasn’t affected their grades since most of their grades have improved.
Other than this, sophomores have also commented how this school year being stricter and more intense didn't have a good effect on their sleep schedule. Since there’s no more Zoom or excuses for the pandemic anymore, it's been tough to adjust to these new changes, leading them to get less sleep than ever before.
Sophomores seem to have a hard time adapting to the real high school experience. However, because it's their first year fully getting off Zoom and physically being in school - the outcome isn't surprising. It’s best to have a more positive mindset and be hopeful that even if everything is difficult now, the school will get better for them as time goes by and create more good memories than bad ones.
Edited by Nino Ioseliani