Now that students have worked their way well into the school year, it’s no secret that stressful times have come to stay. Combating stress is no easy task, but I think it’s fair to say that stress has become a common ground where students can relate to each other. In my admittedly short experience at TJ, I’ve noticed that stress breeds complaints. I get it- sometimes it’s just easier to complain with friends, especially ones who are having similar experiences. It’s easier than struggling alone, for sure. However, the issue often goes beyond an individual’s stress. Students insult their teachers on a daily basis, whether for unfair grading, difficult tests, or just being a bad teacher. That raises a question in my mind: when is it okay to blame a teacher for a student’s failure?

Everyone knows that TJ is a difficult school to attend. The curriculum is fast-paced, assessments are difficult, and deadlines are constantly on the horizon. With motivated and dedicated students, everyone wants an A. Not everyone will make the grade. When that inevitably happens, it’s easy for students to blame the teacher when they experience failure or difficulty. Complaining about teachers doesn’t raise grades, and it certainly doesn’t help to reduce stress. It does, however, contribute to the negative atmosphere many students have felt while at this school. The challenge at hand is drawing the line between a student’s and a teacher’s responsibility in the process, and trying not to push blame around.

Of course, most students have probably encountered teachers who truly have been unfair at one point or another. When that happens, I think the main thing to remember is that teachers are people too. In my time here, I’ve learned that teachers are under quite a bit of pressure, just like all of us. In order to make school easier for both parties, we could all learn to be a bit more forgiving. I’ll admit, I’ve done my fair share of complaining about teachers. However, with the school’s recent efforts to create a more positive environment at TJ, I’ve started to think about my own actions that are contributing to the negative reputation our school earns. Maybe the solution is not to find someone to blame, but to accept that everyone makes mistakes.

I’ve come to the conclusion that in order to create the school environment that we want, both students and teachers alike could be a little more accepting, a little more understanding. The complaining that may have felt like stress relief at first might actually end up becoming a cause of even more stress. In order to fully understand this issue, students and teachers could make more of an effort to understand each other’s viewpoints. If every student were a little more conscious of the people who they complain about, I feel like we could go a long way in improving the TJ environment.