Students’ lives have continued to become increasingly busy. Students fill their schedules with difficult classes, extracurricular activities and outside learning opportunities. Many are overworked and too stressed to handle the daily academic pressures that they face.
School takes up a large portion of students’ lives, and many treat school as a full time job due to the time that is required to understand their learning. The pressure to succeed pushes students to create good study habits and try to over achieve on tests and homework.
Although the pressure can motivate certain students, many fall victim to the pressure as it causes them overwhelming stress and anxiety. If a student has an upcoming test they may lose sleep from studying, overstress about the impact of the test and miss out on other events such as practices.
Test scores are a massive stressor for students and although they are important to make sure classes are understanding the learning, too much pressure can negatively affect students. “I am always worried about how I am going to do on a test, I am constantly studying because I am afraid to miss points, but now I am missing out on my friends,” said senior Max Sorgenfry.
Being in a school that is constantly striving for excellence can create good students, but can also make students feel pressure to reach perfection. And while having a perfect record in school is very beneficial, it is also a lot to ask of a student and can create a fear of making any mistakes.
Students sometimes think that their grades and test scores are a reflection of themselves and missing points can create insecurities in students. “As much as I love getting a 100% on a test, I feel like I let myself down and fail when I don’t meet my expectations,” said Sorgenfry.
This pressure to succeed is only increased by parents, who can unknowingly put a massive burden on their children. Although they may just want them to succeed in school and life, the heightened expectations can weigh heavy on a student.
Peers can have a similar effect on others as comparisons of grades and standings can be demeaning to individuals with lower educational status. It can make underachieving students feel not worthy of their own learning and incapable of finding success if they are below their peers.
All this pressure makes students chase perfection, but mistakes are a part of life and should be embraced. “My grades are very important to me and I take school very seriously, however if I make a mistake on a test or have to ask questions in class I am okay with that because I can learn and improve from it,” said senior Ryan Zumdome.
Students are in a highly competitive environment, especially at Pleasant Valley which strives to be the best in the state. The pressure to succeed in school can sometimes be overwhelming. Mistakes are often frowned upon and perfection is chased, but students shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes and instead should learn from them.
