Students across middle and high schools are hitting a breaking point, not because they lack motivation or discipline, but because they are overwhelmed. Burnout, once discussed primarily in the context of adult work culture, has become a defining challenge for today’s adolescents. Yet the symptoms are frequently misunderstood as laziness, defiance, or apathy. Parents and educators see missing homework, short tempers, slipping grades, or a sudden loss of interest and assume students simply aren’t trying.