As high school graduation approaches, the pressure of upcoming final year external exams intensifies. Final-year high school students can certainly relate to the intensity of this pressure.
The final year in high school is a period of peak academic challenges. The pressure to excel in final exams, graduate, and secure admission into the university becomes a significant stressor for many students, leaving them feeling restless and disturbed.
This period also sees outgoing students feeling entitled, having endured many years of academic stress. Some perceive teachers and school authorities as being too controlling, feeling the need to be freed, especially as they are no longer juniors, and are just a year or two away from bidding goodbye to the four walls of high school.
This feeling of entitlement is backed by actions such as disobeying teachers, breaking school rules, and mistreating juniors. This sudden rebellion leaves one confused since these outgoing students have been known for putting up their best behavior in the past years, prompting the question: why do students in their final years tend to become rebellious and disobedient?
For one, these students feel that as seniors, they should be granted some space or freedom. They believe that teachers are not supposed treat them the same way as they treat junior students. They also feel they have outgrown the stage where they need to impress teachers and parents to remain in their good books. In fact, these students don't even care if they are seen as good or bad; all they want is to get out of school, and anyone standing in their way is seen as hindering their freedom.
Additionally, some students, due to influence and peer pressure, might copy the behavior of friends who are being disobedient, trying to fit in. Some, knowing they will soon be free from school, start breaking rules to feel independent or rebel just to see how much they can get away with challenging authorities.
But is that enough reason to become rebellious? Certainly not. In most cases, students are the ones who suffer the consequences, which can be severe. I remember a period during my last year of high school when some students in my class would occasionally lock the classroom door to avoid teachers from entering. And If a teacher managed to access the classroom, they would continually make noise to force the teacher out or in some cases, leave the classroom for the teacher.
On one occasion, when the classroom door was not locked, the economics teacher came to teach the last topic on our scheme of work before the exams. The moment the teacher approached the classroom door, the class prefect shouted that she was coming, and we should all bend down and pretend to be sleeping so that when she entered the class, she will leave the same way she came. Stupidly enough, all of us agreed to this plan. The result was that the teacher asked us to teach ourselves, make the necessary notes, and submit within two days. We went begging, but our request was rejected. We had to suffer and make notes, about six pages each, within two days. Completing the notes didn't guarantee freedom; some classmates had to redo the notes after the first submission was rejected. All this was done within two days, highlighting the pressure and stress we had to endure, and also showing that students are the ones who suffer the most.
Furthermore, grades of such students might drop drastically because, as graduation approaches, some students lose interest in schoolwork, thinking it won't matter much anymore, which makes them to pay little or no attention to studies.
Another consequence is that teachers will no longer be happy with them, and they will be reluctant to teach them. In most cases, teachers might make such students have a taste of their own medicine by not preparing them well for their final exams or even making them fail and repeat which in turn will cause a strain in the student-teacher relationship. This strain will create an atmosphere of tension, impacting the overall learning experience. Teachers will be reluctant to help students even after their graduation.
In essence, the behavior we see in the final year seems like a mix of stress from school, social dynamics, and the desire to be more independent. As these students move on to the next part of their lives, we wonder if the effects of their rebellious behavior will stick around. Can things get better?, or is this just a normal part of high school that teachers and students have to deal with?