With the first semester of this school year being halfway over, a question was posed to us here at The Haystack: “What don’t people like about school?”

It’s something we hear every day in the halls; students complaining about varying aspects of school life and their reasonings. But why? We decided to investigate and publish our staff members’ opinions on the matter, as we have differing opinions on the topic ourselves.

Lily Fraser
Staff Writer

I believe that school has its hardships throughout the day. Without a packet of fruit snacks to last you until lunch, it gets pretty hard. However, it’s not the only thing that I despise with about school. For one, sometimes I get told that the jacket or shirt I’m wearing is “too vulgar,” even though I continually scan the halls and see boys wearing shirts that sexualize women, and yet, don’t get punished for it. It seems they target the first person they identify, then stop near the end of the day.
Second, the drama that occurs here is pretty immature. Every other week, there seems to be a planned fight involving two sophomore boys that Dan and Rick need to get in the middle of while practically ripping the boys apart from each other. It must be getting tiring for those old farts(a term approved by Rick and Dan themselves).
Finally, the teaching in each classroom is designed to educate each child the exact same way with every classroom I enter. For example, in gym class, some kids, like me, have asthma, but we must all run a two-mile jog around the lake in up to 30-35 minutes. Of course, I can do it in probably 25, but the burning sensation in my chest tells me otherwise. They say we’re all different in our own unique ways, yet we are also told that we must learn this way in order to graduate with an average 3.5 to 4.0 GPA.
All this. Bogus.

Brendan Jordan
Sports Editor

I could go on and on about the reasons school sucks, but I’m only allotted 200 words, so allow me to vent to you about my biggest hatred of school: lack of encouragement of individuality.
Schools embrace the fact that every student is different and unique in their own special kind of ways. For instance, there are so many different elective classes you can take based on your interests. For core classes, however, this idea of individuality is completely ignored as teachers teach every student the same exact things, the same exact way. No changes are made in instruction to help students succeed.
A quote about the topic that I agree with immensely states, “Everybody is a genius. But if you test a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live the rest of its life believing that it is stupid.”
If schools really believe in individuality of students, they should learn to encourage that and help students further achieve the education that the school board says they so desperately need.

Rachel Vigil
Editor-in-Chief

The constant groans I hear from my classmates in almost every period about the torture that is school are not ones I join in on. Unlike many of my fellow staff reporters, I genuinely enjoy school. During the summer, I find myself bored and listless.
Even once it’s started and my amount of sleep and free time quickly drain away, school provides me with direction. I can put up with four to five hours of sleep, but I can’t put up with hours on end without any work to do. Maybe my need for school comes because I don’t struggle in it, or maybe it’s because idle hands are my definition of torture.
While I don’t hate school, there are of course things I would change about it. Limits on homework are needed. Some is obviously necessary, but nights where I’m up till one in the morning for busy work that doesn’t teach me anything shouldn’t happen in a just world.
To add insult to injury, we have to get to school at 7:25 am every day, further cutting into my sleeping time. Reviewing what I’ve just written, it’s apparent that my problem with school mostly revolves around sleep, the one thing that cuts into my enjoyment.

Julian Rodriguez
Staff Writer

Many people hate school for a lot of reasons. People hate the homework, teachers, and the food. Throughout my research of learning why people hate school, some students said it was because of waking up early. Also teachers had some things they said they haven’t liked about school. Some teachers hate how some students are immature. Many students believe that they would have better grades if we changed the starting time to be few hours later.
Personally, the reason why I hate school is because of the drama and the kids that slack and blow off a free education. Many people in other countries would love the opportunities we have here. Although some students do have a hate for school, it doesn’t mean they don’t like school in general, it’s just that they think school could be better. I totally agree. Also, for those teachers, they love their job and they just want to teach.

Connor Gard
Copy Editor

I dislike school for a few reasons, even if they are a bit silly. I hate having to get up at 6:30 a.m. to come to classes that I’m not mentally prepared for at that point in the day.
Even past being a sleepy boy, school just grinds my gears a bit, as it just works as a stressor. It often puts work into my hands that I’m either not prepared to do, or is just a large amount that needs to get done in a short period of time (often because I procrastinate a lot, so that part is really on me).
The other students who are still managing to survive the day, even with work or after-school activities (unlike myself), I applaud you, because I just want to be done with the school day as soon as I walk into the building.
The other students, whether it is screaming at random times in the hallway or just stopping in the middle of the hallway/top of the stairs, can drive me insane from time-to-time. The only reason I probably haven’t completely lost it is because of the few elective classes I enjoy, and I can at least thank school for those.

Jude Kerrihard
Staff Writer

BEEP BEEP BEEP! The sound every student hates–your alarm clock, going off at the break of dawn. You lay there trying to conjure the strength to get up and get ready for school. This is just one of the reasons I dislike school: the starting time is brutal. Most of us are forced to wake up at around 6-6:30, and some wake up even earlier! As I walk into the doors a zombie, I only have one thing on my mind: sleep. Not school work or my classes.
Though waking up sucks, the thing I hate the most is the homework. I just don’t like the idea of it. We come to school for more than seven hours a day, and then they send us home with even more work. The worst part is, if you’re confused while you’re working on it, there is really nothing you can do besides ask your friends for help. Plus a lot of students have other after school activities, including jobs and sports, that restrict how much time they can spend on their homework, sometimes resulting in their grades dropping. Even though we hate school, it’s still important to go and keep up in grades and work.

Landon Stokes
Staff Writer

I feel like the phrase, “I hate school” is probably the most common grumbling heard amongst conversations between students in the halls.
For me, I don’t hate school as much as I dislike the monotony and constant feeling of dread I get throughout the school year. Additionally, a combination of dumb rules, loud people, and the complete absence of any motivation make attending class rather difficult at times. The dread can be mostly chalked up to my own work habits and refusal to do homework, but the main kicker for me is the repetitiveness.
Five days per week, I get up and do the same morning routine, go to the same classes, and go home at the same time. After almost four years of a class schedule (six if you include middle school), I’m more than ready to move on and be done with it.
As far as the rest goes, 7 o’clock in the morning is way too early for underclassmen to be screaming as I walk in the door, and petty rules like the hat policy and my general disenchantment with school in general come together to form a bad taste in my mouth.