Most students, at the beginning of the year, had high ambitions and more drive to work hard. As the year is wrapping up, and the finish line is almost in sight, some students are struggling to find motivation to keep working. 

“A lot of people around me aren’t trying, they are giving up, so I’m just giving up…“[I think I’ve lost motivation] because it’s the end of the year, and I’m getting closer to graduating,” Nathan Montgomery, 10, said. 

To combat the loss of motivation, Mckenzie Stewart, 11, tries to take a breath every once in a while and it helps her to get her work done. 

“If I have a lot of homework, I take breaks. I try not to do a bunch at one time, and try to not procrastinate,” Stewart said. 

Athletes are especially hit hard with this lack of motivation because they usually have long nights of practices or games, and as a result are exhausted. 

“I’ve been so busy with all activities, especially during basketball season; I lost all motivation. I just was so tired with practices, and with games, we’d get back at 9:00 pm. So I would have to go home, and do [AP U.S. History],” Stewart said. 

Students are tired, and one reason for this might be that they are burnt out. 

“You can’t do three hours of homework all at once. You have to space it out, or else you’re going to get super stressed, and it won’t be your best work,” Stewart said. 

With students becoming less motivated, it makes it harder on teachers. They have to think about new, innovative ways to engage students. 

“I think with the majority, teachers are trying to keep students motivated. Without motivated students, you don’t have anything…I think teachers are trying to find ways to keep us more involved, make things fun, and kind of simplify it down more,” Montgomery said. 

Although teachers try to keep students motivated, sometimes it is hard, because some students feel like when they are down it is impossible to get back up. 

“If you do badly on a test it drops your grade, and then assignments don’t get it back up. A test costs so much, and then you have the next test that you fail, and you get behind,” Montgomery said. 

Summer is on most students’ minds, and they are excited to get a break from school. 

“[In summer] you don’t think about school, whereas during the school year, even though you have breaks you might still have a full [AP U.S. History] assignment, so you don’t even get a break,” Stewart said. “In the summer you actually do get a break.”