Eat, sleep, study, repeat, the arduous task students are facing today as school begins to become more intense approaching midterms season. Students at BBHHS have been faced with high expectations since early on in their academic careers, demanding we take the rigorous route, throwing ourselves into high level classes and demanding extracurriculars.
BBHHS earning a blue ribbon in 2024 for exceptional academic achievement is no small feat, but it brings on the question, how have these high expectations affected BBHHS students?
“I think BBHHS has high standards for its students, and we deliver,” says senior Mili Patel. “I think that we have many students willing to take difficult courses offered at our school, a great community full of diverse clubs, and overall just a good community for high schoolers to find their passions for their futures in. Compared to other schools, I think some of our stricter standards really set us apart from them in beneficial ways.”
With BBHHS standing out, it is not something students always consciously think about; sometimes the academic challenge is engrained from an early age.
Madilyn Bican, Audrey Cain , Jack DeMario, Gabriella Gawlik, Chris Jung, Donald Karpowicz, Atidya Mohan (not pictured), Patrick Murphy, Hannah Oswick, Luke Riddles, Amelia Vollstadt, and Simon Youssef.
“Generally Brecksville is a higher achieving school than others,” says sophomore Alistair Zumwalt. “It is not specifically stated to expect more from students, and frankly from an inside view it doesn’t feel [like] it does, however, from an outside view you are expected to do better on state tests which actually feels [like] positive[ly] pushing students to naturally [perform] better than other schools.”
Sophomore Oliver Bellone has had his fair share of balancing classes but seems to be faring well, taking AP and honors courses while maintaining participation in extracurriculars and work outside of school.
“I feel like the course load [at BBHHS] has been fair in that things are expected of me, but the work is not too rigorous,” says Bellone. “However, sometimes I can go from having no work to having a ton of work in the matter of one day.”
“There are lots of different things that play into the expectations of students at BBHHS and elsewhere,” says guidance counselor Gina Baeslach. “The state of Ohio and the district set forth the requirements for graduation and various diplomas. Post-high school plans can also dictate the expectations of students. We also find that students will have expectations of themselves and expectations from their family.”
Another senior, and National Merit Scholar, Haylie Martin, describes her experiences between different school districts, Brecksville being her fourth, and claiming it to be “the most academically rigorous school out of the four.”
“I’ve definitely gotten ahead [academically] of where I would be in other schools, however, schools like Old Trail had a major emphasis on mental health.”
Mental health has become an increasing concern around the globe as there are various efforts to normalize this topic. For years it was taboo, but now people want to talk about it and share what’s going on in their heads.
While BBHHS has begun to block out colony days that lead students to think about their mental health and encourages students to reach out, there has not been much done to recognize the need to maintain positive mental health on a regular basis. The material presented to students often focuses on extremes rather than explaining how for many mental health is a daily struggle, difficult to manage in the rush of everything else.
“Taking breaks to do ‘nothing’ is looked down upon, and never taking a break is almost glorified,” says Martin. “Especially in higher level classes, there’s extreme pressure to never mess up and to always be focused on school.”
While Patel shares a slightly different experience, claiming that even with added difficulty to her schedule throughout the years she manages to recognize any stress as temporary, and has found ways to maintain a healthy balance. She still suggests a similar sentiment to reducing stress within the BBHHS community by enforcing more homework-free weekends for students to be able to relax.
Both students have rigorous course loads full of AP classes and activities outside of school, such as work and volunteering, but they have found importance in time management.
Martin and Patel describe that they spend much of their school day working. While not in classes, or even when they find miscellaneous free time, they spend these breaks doing as much as possible to get through homework with the intention of providing enough time for other activities outside of the classroom.
“I am VERY type A, and schedule every single hour of my week every week of the year. I make sure I block in time for myself, time to spend with friends, and time to work,” says Martin.
It is not an easy task to schedule out time for ‘nothing’, and, as Martin claimed, it is often frowned upon, but this cannot be ignored. To Martin, Patel, and Bellone their ‘nothings’ often consist of reading, gaming, and more like watching tv.
“As school counselors our goals are to support all students [to] develop themselves academically, socially, and emotionally, as well as, help with career guidance and planning for life after high school,” says Baeslach.
If anyone at BBHHS is struggling with their school or home life they should not hesitate to reach out to their favorite guidance counselor or teacher for help.
