by Jordan Costolo ‘25

A small but very vocal minority of students have banded together to fight back against the teachers of Sherwood. Inspired by the recent efforts of workers to unionize at massive corporations such as Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks, junior Jackson Shun created the Fellowship of Students in Solidarity (FSS). The FSS is demanding that students receive no more than 20 minutes of homework total per night, as well as that students receive a guaranteed five-minute break period in the precise middle of each class period.
“This is an accumulation of all kinds of problems this school has,” said Shun. “The workload is just too much for the average student. It’s gotten to the point where even the people that get copied off can’t keep up. The overworking of students must not continue!”

Demands for less homework and mental wellness breaks have only angered the faculty more, to the point in which teachers have threatened to give lower grades to students affiliated with the FSS. In response, the FSS has resorted to meeting secretly in bathrooms, which have become safe havens because of the recently installed doors.

Many students whole-heartedly believe that the work they are doing with the FSS is benefiting the school. “It’s bad here,” said freshman Zach Richards. “If we don’t turn in work by a certain date they will fail us. People think that Apple’s child workers are suffering, but what about us?”

Veteran math teacher Henderson Sheets is not sympathetic to the students’ complaints. “I’m tired of these slackers whining about getting 20 math questions per night, and not knowing the meaning of self-discipline,” said Sheets. “So what if we give a quiz at the end of the week? We are just trying to prepare students for a higher education”. The math department recently met to discuss doubling down on rigor and eliminating all make-up quizzes.

Sherwood’s administration will support the teachers and does not plan on negotiating with the FCC. As a result, Shun threatened a strike and has gained the signatures of more than 950 students who have promised to participate in the Hallway March, a protest of walking the hallways during classes. “I’m hopeful that this method of ignoring authority will get the school’s attention,” said Shun, who claimed that this approach will get students already skipping classes to join the cause.