Assignment 16 - MacKenzie Varble

I hate to state the obvious, but I think it is safe to say that we all experience stress. For some of us, it has become detrimental to our health. I can’t speak for everyone in this room, but I know it holds true for at least most, if not all of my friends, that we have become overwhelmed, exhausted, and burned out because of it. I even had someone tell me that he was going to drop out, drive to Florida, and become a pirate, just because he was overwhelmed with everything going on in school. There are many facts about this stress, the causes, effects, and ways to help conquer it that teachers, family members, and even we are unaware of.

Because of the program we are in, we are pushed to excel not just academically, but also in clubs, sports, and in our social lives. We think that we must become the perfect, well rounded student, to get into the perfect college. According to a Fairfax County Public Schools psychologist, academics are the leading cause of stress in students’ lives. It is followed by sport, social, and family induced stress. Students said in the documentary, Race to Nowhere that they feel the pressure from their families to get into the best colleges. They also think that it is necessary to go to college, and the best post graduate programs. They also say that their parents are putting the pressure on them to do more. Parents keep asking the question, “And?” making it seem that everything their child isn’t doing, is something they should be doing. I feel this in my daily life because my mom is constantly on my back about what I’m doing, and everything that I should be doing to make my college application perfect. Students also feel the pressure from society telling them that they have to be smart, pretty, athletic, musical, and so many other things, and students are worn thin because they’re trying to accomplish all these things. They are also becoming stressed because they think that they aren’t good enough. Students feel guilty because they are not able to fulfill the expectations of teachers and parents.

Students then start to feel the consequences of their stress. It has taken a toll physically. Students have not been getting enough sleep, and according to an article by the American Psychological Association, students are getting only about 6 hours of sleep per night, when the recommended is 8-9 hours. 36% of students are waking up, and still feeling tired every day. This is proof in itself that students are unable to get enough sleep because of the stress they are under. Stress can also cause headaches, and migraines. I have felt this effect for so many years, and I still do. I have headaches every single day because of the stress I am under because of school and family. It has also been seen that students skip meals once a week, if not more than that. I have skipped a number of meals because of too much homework. I have skipped meals multiple times per week, and sometimes, I have even gone without eating for a day here and there because of too much work to do, but feeling the stress of not enough time to do it. It has also taken a toll mentally on people. The stress has created depression and anxiety in over 30% of students according to an article by USA Today, and they are feeling hopeless and lost. A PTSA president from Fairfax County said that when students have 4 or more AP classes, it’s impossible for them to be genuinely happy with their life. The number of teen suicides and suicide attempts have gone up, and according to psychologist Kristen Race,"If you look at teen suicide statistics, stress is one of the things that leads to suicide attempts." It is seen in a New York Times article, that the pressure from the stress of their successful parents and society caused three kids to commit suicide within a short amount of time. The parents aren’t concerned that their kids are dropping the things they love (which is a symptom of suicide) to study more. The kids are stressed about getting the work done, so they drop the things they enjoy to do schoolwork.

With people unaware of the ways to handle stress, the students don’t know how to cope with it, and as said by a Huffington Post article, “parents and other adults can play a critical role in helping teens get a handle on stress by modeling healthy stress management behaviors”, and when parents are showing that students can’t stop, the stress becomes overwhelming. It also shows that without someone guiding them, they don’t have a model of how to deal with the stress, and when they attempt to deal with it, their efforts could be more harmful than helpful. A NYU study also showed that 38% of the students got drunk and 34% got high as a way to try and cope with the stress. One way for educators to help with it is to assign less homework, and when they do assign it, give students more time, because they have a life outside of school. An AP bio teacher saw that when he cut homework in half, the AP scores went up. In The Race to Nowhere, it is said that giving kids more homework doesn’t make them smarter, and countries that outperform the United States, give less homework to the students. There was a lot less homework from the 1900’s to the 1950’s, then the U.S. fell behind in the space race. More homework was pushed until the 60’s and 70’s. That’s when free thinking became a big ideology. Kids had more of a childhood during these time periods. The thing students can do to help themselves is get more rest and relaxation. It is much needed and much deserved for all the work they do, and all the stress they are constantly under.

Overall, stress is a big part of daily life in students, but it shouldn’t be. According to a TedEd video, when students are able to conquer their stress, they will perform better, and be healthier in the long run. Teachers can aid in the causes and effects of stress by assigning less homework, parents ca aid in the coping with stress by being a model of how to deal with it properly, and students can take a break. All of these actions combined will reduce the stress levels of teens, which will improve their mental and physical health. It will also make them happier people, without being less successful.

 

“American Psychological Association Survey Shows Teen Stress Rivals That of Adults." American Psychological Association. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

 

"NYU Study Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms." NYU Study Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms. New York University, 11 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 June 2016. 

 

Bergquist, Sharon H. "How Stress Affects Your Body." TEDed. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2016.

 

FairfaxCountySchools. "Interview: Panel Discussion on Teen Stress."YouTube. YouTube, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 27 June 2016.

 

Gregoire, Carolyn. "American Teens Are Even More Stressed Than Adults."The Huffington    Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 June 2016.

 

Race to Nowhere. Prod. Vicki Abeles. Race to Nowhere. N.p., 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 June 2016.

 

Richtel, Matt. "Push, Don't Crush, the Students." New York Times 24 Apr. 2015: n. pag. Print.