By JORDANA PEARLMAN
From extracurricular activities to keeping up with grades, a high school student rarely has time for oneself or one’s family. In response to this reality, Jericho High School instituted Family Night. Twice last school year teachers agreed not to give homework and students were encouraged to spend time with their families whether at home or at local participating restaurants that provided discounts for dining out.
Many students at Jericho High School experience a great amount of stress. As students feel pressure to participate in extracurricular activities and prepare for standardized testing, all in efforts to build a concrete résumé, work piles on. Senior Christine B., who typically averages about 5 hours of homework a night plus extracurricular activities, said, “I eat dinner until around 7 or 7:30, and from then until at least midnight, I’m usually just studying or doing some kind of work like outside of school résumé building and SAT prep.” Similar to many other high school students, much of her time is structured around work. She added, “I have to eat by myself a lot of the time, and then I eat with usually some kind of study set in front of me so I can maximize my time.”
Guidance Counselor Mr. Rubinstein has suggestions for dealing with stress. “We always recommend taking a break and getting together with friends or family or pursuing social activities and personal interests. We sometimes will find that some students spend the majority of their day on academics, and while that’s very important, it’s also important that they make time for other activities,” he said.
The majority of Jericho faculty and students participated in both Family Nights, which were well received. Freshman Hannah C. spent her night at Fanatico, a local Italian restaurant, and said, “It was very successful because it gave me a block of time to not think about school and spend it with my parents. I wish it was a recurring event.” Sophomore Lindsay L. said, “It gave students an opportunity to connect with their families without the worry of homework.” Senior Maya M. said, “As a junior, having a night off to go to the gym and just relax at home during the week was a pleasant surprise.”
Back to Christine B., despite not having school homework, out-of-school priorities remained. “Even though I didn’t have homework that night, I still had to go to an SAT class after school so it couldn’t be a ‘stress free’ night for me.”
Junior Katie M. could not take part in the night due to teachers who did not participate. “Some of my teachers didn’t oblige by the Family Night rules and either gave me homework due the next day or gave me homework due on Family Night,” said junior Katie M.
Student Council is planning two more Family Nights this year with hopes for increased participation.
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