There are two main problems that high school students struggle with, first being the age difference in schools and second getting along with teachers.

High school is often referred to as the “golden years of life,” however for many students it is everything but that. A lot of students find that the shift from middle school to high school is uncomfortable and unwelcome mainly because there is a large increase in their peer size and a wider gap in their ages.

In the late 80’s many school systems all over the country made a shift in what grades would be in middle school and what grades would be in high school. Before the shift, middle schools (called junior highs) included grades seven through nine and high schools were grades ten through twelve.

Now, however, middle school starts with sixth grade and high school starts with ninth grade. The logic behind this shift came from the rationality that as a sixth grader you were too old for elementarily school and that high school should mock college and have a freshmen, year.

This is where problems arose. Sixth graders became too old for elementary, being with peers who were as young as four when they were already ten or eleven years of age, yet they were too young for middle, being eleven and having students as old as 14 in the same school.

As a result middle schools, like Hammocks, have an entire building and lunch area just for their sixth grade class.

In high school, the ninth grade class usually starts with kids who are as young as 13 or 14 and they are in a school with students who are generally four to five years older than they are.

At Miami Northwestern Senior High last year, a star football player who was 18 at the time, allegedly had sex with a 14 year old student in a school bathroom.

Schools that are large enough have the option to place grades in different parts of the school, but when the school is small and the classrooms are overflowing, the idea of placing younger students in a different area of the school comes up last on the administrator’s ‘to do’ list.

Having such a large gap in ages in schools causes problems, but having teachers that stress you out only makes it worse.

It’s unlikely that many students wake up with a bright smile on their faces when they think of going to school or have positive thoughts when they think about their teachers; however, if they did, then perhaps school would be a little easier and little more stress free.

Students sometimes feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the school year when they have teachers that have been marked by their student body as extremely strict or unmerciful when it comes to giving homework, but walking into class with a positive attitude could change all that.

Chances are that that teacher was thinking the same thing you were, “what are they going to throw at me this year.”

First off, teachers who teach at a high school level are expecting to teach young adults.

Stay on their good side by asking intelligent questions and not having a fit when things don’t go your way.

Teachers want you to learn. There is not a teacher out there who prays every night that their students fail tomorrow’s big test. They want you to succeed.

Many teachers even stay after school to tutor and even after countless minutes of students not showing up for free help they still know that they did their part.

Same goes for students. Teachers are all about give and take, they want a mutual relationship. They want to see that you have tried your best even if you still just have a ‘C’ in their class.

In addition, teachers want you to be interested in what they have to say. That’s why they try so many different methods.

If that method doesn’t work for you say something after class so at least the teacher knows you’re struggling. They learn from us just as much as we learn from them.

As students we hold most of the burden of the relationship, because we can twist, turn and stress it. However, it’s both the teacher and student who can build or break a relationship.