Honestly, most of our hours at home are spent staring at the bedroom ceiling. Photo courtesy of senior Ashur Stepro.
As the bell rings at San Luis Obispo High School, students return home to a wide range of environments. While some are met with peace and support, others face distractions, responsibilities, and/or conditions that make schoolwork harder to manage. The reality is that home life can have a strong influence on academic performance, even if it isn’t always obvious.
“Personally, my home life doesn’t always affect my school performance,” said junior Evan Priola. “But sometimes my house is a little noisy, which makes it hard to focus. It’s more my extracurriculars like Track and Field that make things like studying and doing homework challenging.”
Many students like Evan feel the pressure of balancing school with after-school commitments, but for others, the distractions come from inside the home itself whether it’s noise, lack of personal space, or simply too many things competing for attention.
“At home I tend to distract myself with video games and movies often,” said senior Solano Solano. “Because of this, I tend to sleep at very late times. This has negatively affected my performance in my early morning periods. Sometimes I find myself fighting the urge to snooze, rather than locking in on my class material.”
Sleep deprivation and poor time management at home can snowball into academic fatigue, especially for students with packed schedules and early start times. Meanwhile, others deal with family responsibilities that, while important, still cut into schoolwork.
“The way my school work is affected by my home life is notable,” said freshman Dante Adame. “I can’t really practice some of my music because the walls in my house are thin and I worry that I’m annoying my cousin by being too loud. Another way it’s affected is that I have to help cook and on the weekends I cook by myself, which is understandable since I’m being taught to be independent however, it still takes time away from my homework.”
These stories are not uncommon. Some students must navigate shared living spaces, help with chores, or care for siblings. Others may face emotional stressors that make concentrating on schoolwork even more difficult.
Teachers and counselors at SLOHS know how environments affect school. Whether it’s athletics, stress, or responsibility.
It is why SLOHS offers resources such as Study Skills, and the Wellness Center.
