As a student at a high-achieving middle school school where high grades and academic excellence are stressed, I often feel pressure to exceed standards set for my level of education. There are many nights, as an eighth grader, that I have pulled all-nighters not because I wasn’t done with a project, but because I wanted it to stand out. For me, finishing a project isn’t enough, I feel pressure to do better than my classmates. After I finish it I have to proofread it several times and I usually find many things that could be fixed. This leads me to stay up in the wee hours of the morning fixing everything I could possibly get downgraded for. Usually the next day, I am extremely fatigued and it is difficult to pay attention and learn in class. Many other students at my school and worldwide experience similar situations. In today’s society being “good” at something is not enough. We strive to be better than everyone else at what we do. While this is sometimes a good thing, it is having a negative effect on schoolchildren. Parents need to stop putting so much academic pressure on kids because it is damaging their children. Pressure from school can cause depression, lead to cheating, and force kids to grow up too fast. Some parents and teachers could argue that academic pressure motivates students; however, academic pressure can actually cause these students to slip into depression and use illegal substances. Researcher, Ablard, from John Hopkins University talks about his study
In December 2011 Suleyman Avci conducted a study on 508 first grade students to learn the relationship between self-regulation and the delay of gratification in doing well in academics. Most people are aware the more time they put into something the better the results will turn out and the bigger the reward will be. This theory applies to almost anything including academics. The more one studies the better they will do on a test however, not all students understand this, which explains why some students are more stressed than others. In order to perform well in school students need to set goals for the future and not get distracted by things in the present, like watching television or playing video games, instead of studying for a test. I am completely aware of this; nevertheless, it is still hard to do because my “hot system” wants the instant gratification of doing something fun rather than homework. Future success is hindered by the need for instant gratification. Students who achieve higher levels of academic success are those who realize academic rewards are more important than temporary satisfaction. Those
Alexandra Robbins in chapter four of overachievers, has said throughout the chapter that students cannot cope with so much school related stress that it affects their mental health and general well-being. She does this by addressing the concerns of the students that she has been following that results in stress. She emphasizes students lack of sleep that ultimately affects their attentiveness at school. She also includes the effect of No Child Left Behind and how school practices have transitioned into focusing on america’s testing culture than the pursuit of creativity from students. She claims that cheating is on the rise and is becoming a standard practice within students because it helps relieve the pressure that students get buried in. Skeptics would disagree with her arguments of students’ unhealthy school relating stress by pointing out that students have their own right into what they choose to participate and how well they want to excel in a classroom and if it's too much they can stop. But like AP Frank and many other students across america including myself; parents force their children to achieve higher, And creating the image that they aren’t good enough or they won't get into college. And one thing I can strongly agree on is the lack of sleep that really creates stress!
At a young age, we as a collective society have experienced the first-hand the struggles of attempting to be successful. We are told that excellence inevitably leads to success. We are told as children that one must go to college in order to be successful. As a result, children aspire to go to college only because we are told it is essential to be successful in life. The path to be a success is a stressful one and requires a great deal of work. There is too much homework, too many tests, and too much needless pressure is put upon the shoulders of young children by their parents. In her essay “Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?” Vicki Abeles argues and exposes the harmful effects of the drive for success. Abeles incorporates other ways to improve a child’s drive for success with consideration to the children’s health. One of her strategies for a healthier drive that would be beneficial and adopted by both college educators and fellow students is a limit on homework and weekend and holiday homework ban. Although a drive to be successful is essential for achieving excellence, limiting homework would be beneficial because it is less overwhelming for students, provokes less stress and
The true value of education is lost as grades and numbers become top priority. In a spoken word, Suli Breaks shares that students have becomes zombies in schools that run everything in a routine. They lose sleep to hand in assignments and meet the dead-line yet by that time the students are also half dead. The grade is all that the student starts to care about because that is what the school is directing their efforts towards. With all of their focus on the grade no one remembers to remember what they learned and apply it in life. Thus, it is in one semester and out the next. In one study teachers witnessed “unprecedented levels of school-related anxiety, stress, and mental health amongst pupils, particularly at exam time”. People may think that only college students do all nighters but it actually is not surprising to find high school and sometimes even middle schools staying up late nights trying to finish up assignments. All of this leads to sleep deprivation which affects the student’s health and in turn propels their stress as time virtually elapses out of existence. Likewise, the school system runs in such a way that mistakes become feared in an unhealthy manner. It is fine to have the fear of failure but one must learn to accept it because once it is accepted, children are not afraid to take a chance at trying something new. Ken Robinson makes the point that “we
Happy New Year! How are you? I just wanted to update you. I applied for jobs through Americorps and landing one in Pittsburgh with a Non-profit called Higher Achievement. We are an affiliate to a national program. Higher Achievement aims to help middle school scholars from the Hill District and Homewood areas, prepare for High School and for placement in advanced programs and or top tier schools. I was hired to help recruit mentors for the scholars and create programming for alumni of Higher Achievement. I told my supervisors about my interest in communications and they offered me the opportunity to be affiliate Brand Manager and of course I took it! I'm happy to be getting my foot in the door. I hope you're doing well and looking forward to
Today, students are faced with multiple kinds of pressures, such as: “(a) pressure to succeed; (b) socio-cultural expectations; (c) collegiate lifestyle; (d) and accessibility to prescription stimulants” (Varga). Society is forcing students to break the law. Adderall has become so tempting because it is common nature to cope with stress and stressors. Due to society’s competitive nature, individuals feel as though they need to cheat in order to outperform and this has led to expansive illegal drug use. The college lifestyle plays a large contribution to Adderall use because of the “features commonly associated with college life, such as staying up all night partying, studying through the night, and having rigorous academic and extracurricular schedules” (Varga). Adderall is used to cope with juggling many activities. Using stimulants is incentivizing to students suffering from exhaustion. Adderall eases students’ capability to obtain academic success and continue to live a life of achievement. A significant factor contributing to the practicing habits of Adderall is not just centered around pressure and business, but also one’s personal morals and their perspective of the
Even though risky behavior and peer pressure can have a variety of different meanings for people, typically, it is a relation to drugs or alcohol. Most of the time, it seems that the most well-known types of peer pressure come from friends partaking in a substance such as drugs or alcohol and trying to persuade someone else in the group. According to the article “Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children” by Lewis and Lewis (1984), peer pressure is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. (Lewis & Lewis, 1984) Not only are these risk-taking behaviors prevalent throughout life, but most specifically throughout college. In their book Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009), all suggest that the biggest difference between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the environment at college. (Johnston et al., 2009)
While social pressure is hard, academic pressure can be just as tough and more harmful if not handle
High school students feel more stress than working adults, and children are beginning to feel aversion towards learning. Both adolescents and children are at risk of health issues due to anxiety and less time is spent with family, playing, and sleeping. The cause for all of this is too much homework that is suffocating students. Homework causes students to sleep less, have more stress, and even forces students to give up extracurricular activities. These negative results can be improved by reducing the homework load.
You feel pressure to get everything done, and have it done to perfection. If you miss a homework assignment your parents get on you, might discipline you, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Then, you feel pressure to do even better in school. I admit I feel pressure to do well in school, but not like some people. Some people feel like if their grade is anything less than an A then they have failed that class. Sometimes that’s just them; sometimes that's because of their parents. The pressure put on students to get that good grade is overwhelming, and the pressures and expectations to be in the Top 25 are unreal and even
We all have been young adolescents before and experienced all the things junior high and high school has to offer. Being a teenager is something everyone has or will experience in our life times. Teenagers go through a crucial time in their lives where they really figure out who they are and how to make more adult decisions. Peer pressure has always been a regular part of teenage life. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry state's “Peers play a large role in the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Their influence begins at an early age and increases through the teenage years. It is natural, healthy and important for children to have and rely on friends as they grow and
Peer pressure in society today has a negative effect on teens and schools should implement programs to help teens battle with peer pressure. Nowadays Peer pressure is a major problem in the lives of teens. These problems not only occur in school, but also outside of schools. If schools decide to implement programs teaching teenagers how to successfully battle peer pressure, a lot of decision-making for teens would be different. Not only in educational programs but in their everyday lives as well.
Academic success could never be fully measured by degrees alone, but it can include a person’s well-being as well as their mind and certain characteristics about a person that make them unique. This success can be achieved in different ways by these different people with different strengths, but there is the same ultimate goal in sight of each and every student enrolled in college at some point. However, this goal of being successful in not only school but in life, can sometimes turn out to be the opposite of how we plan. Of course, a student can achieve success by earning degrees and still fail in life. Academic success can also be a huge constituent to a students vocational calling in college as young students make a transition into adulthood.
There are many ways for you to improve your grades. It is really important to get good grades because in the future, you can go to a great college or have a great job. Students with bad grades are most likely the ones who will have a poor choice job. It is also important to get good grades because it shows that you want to do your best. There are many causes of high academic performance. One way to have a good grade is to pay attention in the class. Some students in the class do not listen in call, but you need for listen to what the teacher is talking about, so you won't struggle in class. In the class you would want to remove all of your distractions, and stay focused on the teacher. You also need to keep focused on the teacher don't let your mind start to wander off, and if this does happen to come back to reality and stay focused. Another way to get good grades is to come to class and come prepared. You never want to be late to class because you might miss something import the teacher has said, and it is important to bring everything you need to the class because if you forget it then you can't do the assignment that the teacher has giving. It is also important to develop a routine. What this means it make your day look like the previous day, for example 8.00 wake up eat breakfast. At 9.00 go to your classes, and after class do your assignments, then if you have free time do what ever you want. By doing this you are teaching your brain what time of day it is, and this helps your brain pay attention. You should also find a better environment. What i mean by saying this is that if you have a hard time in the back of the class you should move, or if someone continues to talk
Peers are equal in abilities, age, background and even social stature. Peer Pressure is society pressuring a member of a peer group to undertake certain actions, adapt values, and do what they believe will allow them to be accepted into such a group. In the Bible, the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the New Testament provides examples of Peer Pressure. The ability to either fall into or steer-clear of peer pressure is through the virtues of courage, temperance and prudence. We are followers of Jesus Christ and we are not the same humans that once roamed the earth. We are should be more confident in ourselves and our actions than relying on others to tell/show us what is ‘acceptable’ or not. The Bible gives us examples regarding peer