“You don’t understand school is a lot harder now. You guys had it easy.”

This is a line commonly heard by teenagers as they complain about their homework to adults or in response to parents questioning attitude toward grades.

Is school really as hard as teenagers make it out to be or do teenagers just complain too much? Teachers share their opinions on school difficulty today and how students react to it.

“I don’t remember any [AP or honors classes] when I was in high school,” Hare said. “There was no ACT preparation —I didn’t know anyone who took it more than once and you took [the ACT or SAT], not both.”

Health teacher Peggy Rose agrees that school is very different now, especially in how much students focus on GPA and test scores.

“Can’t say I paid any attention to curriculum when I was in school. It set me up for a lot of problems in my first college class. I was very lost, although I was more prepared than everyone else,” Rose said.

Both teachers agree that even though the curriculum is harder now, they do believe that it prepares us better for college and the future.

“[There are] way more college visits now than when I was in high school,” Hare said. “The internet helps as well which wasn’t available when I was in school.”

Not only are the academics different but extracurriculars are as well, Hare said.

“It’s more demanding now,” Hare said. “There are too many club teams vying for the student athlete’s time. Fewer people try multiple activities or sports. They are also at greater risk for being burned out.”

Rose said that even though school is more difficult teenagers complain about it too much.

“Don’t complain about the things you can control,” Rose said. “No one makes you take five AP classes, private lessons, or two sports a season. You have to know your own limits. Knowing how to say ‘no’ is a valuable skill.”