“High school is going to be your easiest years.” This common belief is often drilled into the minds of young students by parents, preparing them for what is to be expected in the real world. A good education is considered to be the foundation of a “successful life.” We are expected to have good grades, a high GPA, participate in extracurricular activities, hold leadership positions, and find an interest in an occupation, all of which will supposedly determine a prosperous future. However, these expectations are contributing to a mental health crisis among students, who are becoming mentally distressed due to the frustration associated with a derived need for perfection and meeting these high academic demands.
Rising Expectations and Mental Health
With expectations that are only rising, there is a steep increase in stress and serious mental illnesses among current students. Depression, anxiety, and even suicide are major effects of academic failure and an overwhelming workload in school. Students feel entitled to get an A in each course, and they no longer know how to deal with disappointment. Many turn to alcoholism and drugs, while others are under such intense pressure that they may even take their own lives.
There has been an alarming number of suicide attempts in recent years. For instance, in 2011, Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, reported six deaths within their campus, four of which were linked to suicide. Statistics also show a striking rise in requests for counseling, with some mental health offices reaching more than 18,000 visits in one school year. Fear and anxiety are the biggest problems students face each day in their academic life. Fear in a student can be about failure and not getting the good grades they hope for. Indeed, it is a common desire among all students to excel in their studies and schoolwork. However, in situations where a student does not meet these expectations, the motivation to continue diminishes, pulling the student into a deeper hole of stress and detachment from reality.
The Pressure Cooker of Homework and Extracurricular Activities
Intolerable amounts of homework, schoolwork, quizzes, and tests contribute to the pressure cooker environment in modern-day high school. Every student has a life outside the academic environment, and when a student has to compromise their personal life for their studies, they get discouraged and fall behind, eventually losing focus on schoolwork. In the long run, this increased pressure to keep up with studies takes a toll on students.
A full school day is approximately eight hours long, leaving an estimated amount of 50 minutes for seven different school subjects. Each of these subjects has its own homework, tests, and quizzes for every student to excel in, thus taking up time outside of school to complete homework and study for upcoming tests and quizzes. Not only are students juggling between each subject within their fields of study, but they are also expected to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, band, organizations, and clubs, which colleges also find exceptionally important. This demanding workload often leads to a feeling that there is not enough time to handle all these courses to the student’s perfection, adding to the overwhelming pressure.
The Burden of Future Expectations
The thought of how one’s academic performance will impact their future is a burden for most students. In our competitive world, many high school students aim to achieve high GPAs, SAT and ACT scores, grades, and place in the top percentile of their class. Thoughts about whether a student will be a burden to society or make an impact often overwhelm their minds. Many begin to feel pressured and worried that they will not meet the standards society has placed for them.
ETS’s Policy Information Center reports that more students are dropping out earlier, between ninth and tenth grades. The high school completion rates within the United States have declined in 10 states by 8 percentage points or more. As the overwhelming tension to succeed in school increases, more teenagers become discouraged from achieving a “successful future” and drop out as an escape route to avoid these stresses.
The Pursuit of Perfection
Undergraduates all across the world are overpowered with scholastic requests and the craving to become the “perfect 4.0 student.” These stresses and high demands become controlling in one’s life, killing all motivation to excel in academics. As a result of this pressure, teenagers start to mark themselves only by a test score or that last letter grade on an assignment. They become so fixated on the outcome that they begin to dismiss the genuine purpose behind school: to learn.
Theoretical Perspectives
The pressures faced by students can be analyzed through various academic theories. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the need for esteem and self-actualization becomes crucial during the adolescent years. When students are unable to meet these needs due to overwhelming academic pressures, their mental health suffers. This is supported by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), which posits that the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness are essential for psychological well-being. When academic pressures undermine these needs, students experience increased stress and decreased motivation.
Additionally, the Achievement Goal Theory (Dweck, 1986) highlights the difference between mastery-oriented goals and performance-oriented goals. Students pressured to achieve high grades and test scores often adopt performance-oriented goals, focusing on outcomes rather than the learning process. This shift can lead to increased anxiety, fear of failure, and ultimately, burnout.
Is It Worth the Pressure?
When these stress factors are put into consideration, a question arises: Is it really worth it to pressure the future generations of the world so much that they disregard the value of learning, focusing only on the results from their academic performance based on their intellectual ability? This intense pressure undermines the true purpose of education, which is to foster a love for learning, critical thinking, and personal growth.
Addressing the Issue
To address this issue, educational systems and society need to rethink their approach to academic success. Emphasizing holistic development, providing mental health support, and fostering a balanced approach to academics and extracurricular activities are crucial steps. Encouraging a growth mindset, where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities, can also help reduce the fear of failure and promote resilience.
Conclusion
The common belief that “high school is going to be your easiest years” is increasingly proving to be a myth. The relentless pressure to achieve academic perfection is taking a toll on students’ mental health and well-being. Depression, anxiety, and suicide are alarming consequences of this pressure. To truly support the future generations, we must shift our focus from mere academic outcomes to the overall development and well-being of students, fostering environments where learning is valued over mere performance.