Students May Be Rebelling Because They Barely Get Any Real Rest During Their School Year

Here's a quote I found on Facebook. As I look at the Philippine academic calendar plans to resume back to June (but some private schools aren't following it), I think about why I hated school before. A few years ago, I could recall writing about the Boomer Generation's sleep-deprived stressful education and how the Philippine education system may be automating students. This reminds me that a few years back, my high school classmate who plays the concerned citizen, actually still plays it. Again, to respect his privacy, I'm not going to put out the screenshot. The post talked about the problem of grades over learning education (read my essay here). As I look back, I may be wrong to blame the teacher. Instead, teachers may have been required to give homework over the weekends (read here). Teachers are required to follow rules, putting more of the blame on the education system. It's no wonder that some teachers quit teaching. It's because when students get too much homework--teachers will be burdened to check on homework, even during the weekend. 

There's this problem of the Boomer mentality that "Fatigue is a badge of honor." However, there's a big difference between school back during the Boomer Days and school after the post-Boomer Days. As a high schooler, I was already infamous for frequently complaining, "Lessons are getting harder these days." The usual response from Boomer elders is, "You complain too much! You're just getting more spoiled and lazy these days!" Some Boomer parents refused to see the value of the PC, all because they wrote "quality essays" using a typewriter. However, the PC has offered better quality tools, which one can edit their essays before printing. It reminds me of what my late English teacher would say, "My goodness! You don't bother to edit before you print?" She was computer illiterate, but mind you she was right.

I didn't think too much about why I hated school until the pandemic. All I could recall was why college was so much better during my business administration days. I had a teacher with OCD (?) but she was far more reasonable with workload. I remember nearly getting NC until I asked the teacher if we could do something to replace the missing work. I could remember this teacher who muttered angrily because one of my classmates deviated too much from the case study. I had strict professors but they were all reasonable. Answering back was hardly in my mind, because most of these professors raised their voice, but they were raising it within reason. However, I also confessed my "rebel days", to which I got defiant, all because I hated high school with a passion.

When I look at what went wrong with high school, I think about the problem of homework over the weekends. Weekends are barely bonding time. Maybe, that's why teenagers may have more than enough reason to burn out and get rebellious, one way or another. Sure, I didn't take drugs, go home late on school nights, go out with the wrong companions, etc. However, I'd still rebel by saying, "If being mature or growing up means going out with the wrong crowd, no thanks!" However, the problem with the school system is similar to the Chinese parenting style--something that's greatly affecting China today! This might be the reason why misbehavior is so common in China. 

Analyzing the flight-or-fight response

The body has a flight-or-fight response, whether we like it or not. This may be caused by how school has put the body into a near-constant state of flight-or-fight. We can look at how WebMD describes the problem: 

Fight. When your body feels that it is in danger and believes you can overpower the threat, you’ll respond in fight mode. Your brain releases signals to your body, preparing it for the physical demands of fighting. 

Signs of a fight response include: 

Tight jaw

Grinding your teeth

Urge to punch something or someone

A feeling of intense anger 

Need to stomp or kick

Crying in anger

A burning or knotted sensation in your stomach

Attacking the source of danger

Flight. If your body believes you cannot overcome the danger but can avoid it by running away, you’ll respond in flight mode. A surge of hormones, like adrenaline, give your body the stamina to run from danger longer than you typically could. 

Signs of a flight response include: 

Excessive exercising

Feeling fidgety, tense, or trapped

Constantly moving your legs, feet, and arms

Restless body

Feeling of numbness in your arms and legs

Dilated, darting eyes

I was even thinking could a lot of high school fights be caused by that? I remember swearing I'd never talk with that person again. The guy was a jerk back in high school, although he wasn't a big time bully. The guy had the tendency to be a braggart, but if I look back at it, it wasn't all that bad, compared to the worst I've met before and after. I was able to talk to him again in 2016--where he was already happily married and they both have a child together. As I look into high school, I was wondering if a lot of foolish stuff I did, was a result of fight-or-flight response. I may have applied as a CAT-1 officer, just because dear old (insert elder) was also part of it? 

In my case, I had the fight response, looking at how often I get touchy, even towards concerned citizens. Some of the worst things I've done was to resolve to teasing the opposite gender (because I was also a victim of teasing myself), I was always angry (and somehow, I got pleasure whenever I made someone angry, even if I knew how it felt myself), I always had the urge to stomp or kick (and I even caused property damage, more than once), had that burning sensation in the stomach (which may explain why I pooped a lot during early morning classes), and even attacking the source of danger. In fact, I was almost suspended many times over my response, such as slapping someone when I get really upset. 

There's also the flight response, which I experienced. Back then, I didn't have the excessive exercising, because exercise is often viewed as "only for athletic people". In my case, I had the feeling of being trapped, I couldn't stay still, and I felt numb. I was often trying to avoid the situation, which resulted in several lies, just to escape. I was always trying to avoid responsibility by blaming someone else, no matter how ridiculous the accusation was. I might've said a lot of crazy things back in high school as a result of little white lies. I mean, I've fought with some people in high school, but somehow became friends with them in college. I bet a healthy distance was what was needed! I wonder if parental lying is also a result of the fight-or-flight response. Parents tend to lie to their children a lot, trying to "shelter them", which may have sprung from a bad childhood. They were probably too proud ot seek psychological help, seeing it as a waste of time. In doing so, they've become weaker, and not asking for help is a sign of true weakness.

In turn, this could create a vicious cycle in student rebellion. Some incidents in high school might not be that bad. Take, for instance, some teenage males may be discussing going to the Internet cafe to watch inappropriate stuff. I remember two of my male classmates talking about inappropriate stuff out loud. I was even laughing while both classmates carried on with the indecent conversation. I could've gently rebuked them but I chose to laugh at what they were doing. I even remember they got into trouble for bringing a Playboy magazine to school. Sure, I've contemplated even murdering some classmates over a light joke. The jokes were obviously and mostly harmless, but I was taking them seriously. I could think of other acts of rebellion I did. It was already clear that teenagers weren't allowed to have emotional relationships. I can agree that it's "Too young, too soon, too painful." Lacking maturity means emotions are hardly controlled. Maybe that's why I ended up teasing girls, trying to feel good about myself, even when I could end up in jail sooner or later. I even thought about courting and dating that bimbo back then, because I felt like her free-spirited behavior could "set me free". However, I was in love with some highly intelligent.ent girl back then, but her intelligence intimidated me to no end, as much as I wanted her. Fortunately, I didn't get into her, or it could've been worse. Still, I wouldn't deny that I've already rebelled as a teenager, in one shape or form. 

It may even be worsened by boomer parents who keep talking about, "How great they are..." and "How the children must have the reputation of the family." They may say, "It's just to push them to do better." Instead, they're actually putting their children under their shadow. Sadly, some teachers might be failing to see individual uniqueness, because the same cycle is taught all over again. Sadly, boomer parents may fail to recognize that, indeed, lessons are getting harder. If the exercise routine is harder, rest days are absolutely recommended. However, some think stress and ADHD are "just a myth by big pharma to make money out of you". They might need to look at it that being strict may not be enough to squash rebellion. Sure, strict parenting work,s but only if the parent is authoritative instead of being authoritarian.

Like it or not, chronic stress is a major contributor for flight-or-fight response

Rather than get the answer from Google's AI response, I'd go for the sources instead. AI is typically generative and can be prone to mistakes. I refuse to use chatbots as a source of information. Instead, dig into a medical or psychological source is needed. As I look into it, the Mayo Clinic writes this down to describe chronic stress, something students are frequently at risk of, because they barely get any rest:

Understanding the natural stress response

When you face a perceived threat, a tiny region at the brain's base, called the hypothalamus, sets off an alarm system in the body. An example of a perceived threat is a large dog barking at you during your morning walk. Through nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts the adrenal glands, found atop the kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline makes the heart beat faster, causes blood pressure to go up and gives you more energy. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugar, also called glucose, in the bloodstream, enhances the brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances in the body that repair tissues.

Cortisol also slows functions that would be nonessential or harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. It changes immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with the brain regions that control mood, motivation and fear.

When the natural stress response goes wild

The body's stress response system is usually self-limiting. Once a perceived threat has passed, hormones return to typical levels. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to typical levels. Other systems go back to their regular activities.

But when stressors are always present and you always feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on.

The long-term activation of the stress response system and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all the body's processes. This puts you at higher risk of many health problems, including:

• Anxiety.
• Depression.
• Digestive problems.
• Headaches.
• Muscle tension and pain.
• Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.
• Sleep problems.
• Weight gain.
• Problems with memory and focus.

That's why it's so important to learn healthy ways to cope with your life stressors.

By reading this, this may explain why teenagers can be so touchy. I've experienced getting mad frequently whenever I'm criticized, even if the criticism was meant to help. There's even a time I challenged one of my classmates to a fistfight after he reprimanded me for being noisy. The other guy, being professional, refused the challenge. However, I still yelled at said, "I'm not finished with you yet." The whole incident went with me , even threatening to murder the person if the person made me angry one more time. After it cooled off, I realized that I said a lot of stuff I should've never said and that the person was offering useful advice. However, I still had some issues that made me have lower self-esteem. Sadly, some people told me that it was all about willpower, something that fails most of the time. Sometimes, you need professional help. I had a cataract and I could've been blinded in my left eye, if I didn't seek that professional help! 

If there's really a problem with school and why grades are getting low, one may blame the stressful school system. We're prone to dislike what we're not good at. In my case, fourth-year high school math tantrums defined me back then. Fortunately, my teacher was always asking how I was after I graduated from high school. I could recall how often I get mad at people for being better at mathematics. All the while, they were weaker at what I was better at. I would dare say that , based on experience, my bad high school grades might've been a result of anxiety, which also causes problems with memory and focus. One could keep getting forgetful as a result. Which is also why, whether we want to accept it or not, torture doesn't work either. Torture would put people under a lot of stress, so they would lie to avoid the brutal consequences (such as a mutilated limb, sorry in advance for being gross), and frequent threats would do the opposite. Instead of improving performance, it can worsen it. In this case, the education system may be torturing students through too much memorization and too much homework. 

In fact, I blame school-induced anxiety as to why cheating is so hard to combat. I wonder if my classmate who got suspended for cheating suffered as a result of anxiety. Whether we like to admit it or not, it's never a pleasant experience to work overtime or to light one's midnight candle, figuratively or literally speaking! The body needs sleep, and unfortunately, a lack of sleep can lead to poor memory retention. It may explain why students can study hard all night and still fail the exam the next day. Instead, what happens is that people end up cheating. It's not just because schools focus too much on rote memorization. It's also because school schedules are unrealistic. If employees have a day off, then why not students? Why are students still forced to crunch down on homework? Is it to prevent them from sitting down in front of the TV all day and playing video games? Honestly, I rebelled back in high school by playing video games too much over the weekend. Video games have their benefit,s but again, students may indulge in too much gaming. It might be an overcompensation of the body because the body was forced to study too much. 

The education system needs to think that students and teachers are stressed. Maybe that's why some teachers become terrors too. Some teachers may snap and take out their frustrations on their students. Back to students, this is why the learning system needs to focus more on grading based on learning than grading mostly based on memorization. If students focused more on learning, maybe students would be distracted from too much gaming and too much television. I started watching mathematics videos on YouTube, realizing that mathematics is a fascinating subject. It made me realize that I don't hate mathematics per se--the real problem wasn't the teacher but the system of how teachers are forced to teach mathematics. The mathematics teacher is just doing his/her job. However, it's the system that has been broken, where practicality is thrown out of the window, in exchange for a grade that was just based on memorization without understanding.