A student lays their head on their desk, seeing the new assignment that had been assigned for the next few days. They look at the assignment and anxiety fills their body, the assignment is something that the student had skipped due to their mental health issues.

Ever since the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, student motivation rates have decreased. Some students do not have the motivation to do their school work or even get up to go to school. For most kids, it is a mental health issue, but for others, it is their home life or discouragement when it comes to school. Edweek.org says that 80% of educators report that the pandemic made their students no longer motivated in school.

“School continues on no matter how the student feels,” said Freshman Campus psychologist Kristine Nichols. “If they know the material or not, the teacher keeps teaching and the students are just swept along for the ride.”

In school, students may not grasp the information fully, and not have the courage or energy to ask for help on the work. They continue to learn more, their confusion will grow and their motivation goes fully down the drain.

“Expectations can really make it difficult for students who you know, are working hard and are really trying and there’s just kind of this jump from middle school to high school that does not feel natural,” said Nichols.

Some expectations are heavy from teachers, they may expect a lot from students who do not have the capability to do the amount of work they are asking for.

“I’m in this really difficult AP class,” said freshman Ella Polasek. “My teacher expects a lot from us and I feel like I can’t make up for that. I have a hard time starting my work due to that.”

With no motivation, a huge part of it is procrastination. According to the American Psychological Association, 80 to 95 percent of students procrastinate on their assignments. So, assistance on homework can really help a student especially if they are a big procrastinator or overthink when it comes to their school work.

“I think that if you try to build a connection with an unmotivated student you can find what motivates them to try harder in the classes that they are struggling in,” said biology teacher Maxwell Zerndt.

Connecting with an unmotivated student can help their mental health as well as their motivation skyrocket. Talking with other people could excite them to come into class and work with their peers. Once they are motivated in one class, it is common that they will put equal effort into all their classes.

Though procrastination does not disappear nor does not having any motivation, but, building connections and assistance from peers and teachers will help subside those negative traits.