Dear president,

While some people believe American education is great, I disagree. Yes, students may be learning a lot; however, this comes at a price. Students today are sleep deprived, stressed and unhappy.

I feel that, as the country’s President, you have the responsibility and the power to change the problems in today’s education system. The education that students receive now can affect them in their later lives. Students today are someday going to be ruling the world; therefore, their education is an important issue that deserves more attention.

The stress levels in students are very high. NBC news stated that stress levels in teens are as high, if not higher, than most adults. This may be shocking, but when you think of all the things that students do on a daily basis it becomes more understandable. A student normally has 7 hours of school and 3 and a half hours of homework. When part time jobs, church activities, extracurriculars, and sports are added to that there's barely time to sleep.

Students will often sacrifice sleep to get homework done or to study. Teens on average should get 9.5 hours of sleep to function properly and stay healthy. However, teenagers on average get 7.5 hours of sleep. Not only is this unhealthy, but it is also slightly ridiculous. Students are putting their health on the side in order to get better grades. This is not the only outrageous thing that students are doing.

Cheating, while closely monitored, still happens. Once my geometry teacher stood in front of the class and explained how phones were no longer permitted to be used as calculators because students were texting answers back and forth throughout a test. Cheating is a fairly common thing, but it highlights just how corrupt the education system is. Students are more concerned with a grade than with their morals and their education.

In today's society we, as students, are taught that school should be our number one priority. We are taught that family, friends, and even our health is less important than school. If you were to voice the same opinion, that school shouldn’t always be a student's number one priority, then people would listen. You have the power to change the education system.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I sincerely hope that you take this letter into account when thinking of anything that may impact students today.

Sincerely,

Alie

Work cited

"Sleep in Adolescents (13-18 Years)." Sleep in Adolescents. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

"Teens More Stressed-Out Than Adults, Survey Shows." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.

Klein, Karin. "About 3.5 Hours of Homework a Day for High Schoolers? That's Too Much." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 01 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.