Rocklin High School has always excelled in academics and athletics, establishing a prominent standard for other schools to follow. As a result of these high expectations, many students at RHS create unrealistic expectations for themselves to earn perfect grades while also keeping up with sports, jobs and other extracurricular activities.

Mr. James Grace commented on the matter by saying, “I think many of my students are always trying to live in constant perfection and are focused on getting that A, which is a really hard life to live.”

As teenagers, we are still learning how to balance the stress of school and still keep our mental health in check. Many times we put the blame on teachers by saying they should not assign us so much work or claiming they do not understand the stress we are under.

One thing that can be hard for students to realize is that teachers also have stress to deal with, just like their students. They must prepare their classes and keep up with grading. It is easy to come to school everyday and just go through the motions such as listening to the lecture your teacher has prepared for that day and complain about having to take notes. Rarely would a student ever stop to think about the amount of work the teacher had to put in to create that lesson.

Teenagers must start realizing that this idea of balancing work and mental health is very important. We should work on creating helpful methods now, because this concept does not disappear after high school.

One teacher that has started pushing this idea of mindfulness and taking time for yourself is Mrs. Michelle DeMaria.

After attending an emotional wellness conference over the weekend of October 15 and 16, she realized this was something she wanted to incorporate in her classroom.

Conveniently, the Monday after the conference was the day before two of her classes (Medical Intervention and AP Biology) had a big test. She took time out of each of her classes to talk about the importance of taking time for yourself first.

“I wanted my students to know that I care more about them as people than the grade they get on the test. I have always known this to be true, but this conference made me realize it is okay to take time out of our classes to tell our students this,” stated DeMaria.

DeMaria also opened up about what changes she has been making, so she can set a good example for her students. She explained that before the conference she was not doing a good job of balancing all her classes and also allowing time for herself.

She said, “Being aware of the fact that I was out of control makes me try harder.”

She was honest about how she planned to make a change in her life and ensure that she keeps time for herself and mindfulness. She plans to make sure that she takes her dog for more walks to help relieve built up stress.

DeMaria wanted to give her students greater perspective by allowing them to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

“Your success you experience in high school does not measure your success in life, and what happens here should not dictate your life,” she said.

One RHS student that commented on how this conversation has affected her is Jess Sawyer, a junior in Medical Intervention by saying, “it made [her] realize [she] should put [her]self first even if it means putting off an assignment to go exercise or take care of [her]self; it’s more important than the grade [she] get[s].”

One thing for sure is that DeMaria is setting a proud standard for what kind of example our teachers should be leading here on campus.