problem and solution

Too Much Pressure?

Table of Contents

Too Much Pressure?
Abstract
It’s known that being a teenager can be difficult at times. Students have to study every day in order to get good grades into an acceptable college to be successful in life. However, the pressure to succeed is becoming a bigger issue for many of these students. It has been shown that teenagers have shown signs of insomnia, depression, changed eating habits and other stress related symptoms. Whether this pressure is from parents, schools, or their own, it can sometimes lead to very negative effects. According to a poll “The Washington Post” did, about 91% of people believed that parents and teachers need to be more aware of how much they pressure their kids, and the remaining 9% believe that this pressure is good preparation for the “real world.” While hard work is the key to success, it is easy to see why so much pressure is put on these students. Could today’s society be putting too much pressure on teens? When does all this studying and hard work become too much and start to have a negative effect with the student?

Introduction
Lucy wakes up in the morning to the sound of her alarm clock and groans, “Just five more minutes, please.” It was the beginning to another long day. Lucy got dressed, ate breakfast and rushed off to school. She rushes into the classroom just before the bell rings. Four long classes later, the bell rings and Lucy rushes to her soccer practice, thinking about all the work she has to do when she gets home. Practice soon ends and Lucy gets home exhausted but knowing that she has lots of work to do. An AP United States History test, an English essay, and math homework. After hours of long, hard work Lucy collapses at midnight exhausted by her long hard day and groaning realizing she has another long day tomorrow.
This is the life of a normal student in high school. Many students get so much work that they barely get any time to do anything for themselves. Long days, and barely enough sleep at night, and lots of school work all added together can create so much stress and anxiety for a teenager, and this could lead to many negative effects to the person, such as depression, insomnia, anorexia, stomach pain and more. We all know that hard work is the key to success, however too much work will only tire the student, and sooner or later they won’t be able to concentrate on their work as much and the students grades could drop.
For this project, I have decided to research the negative effects of too much pressure on teenagers, and how teachers, students, and parents can encourage the student the student to do well, and without putting too much pressure on him/her.

Procedures
These are the procedures I have taken in order to find the solution to this problem:
1. Research
I have created a poll for students in high school to take (30 people), and these were the results:

Are parents and teachers putting too much pressure on teenagers?
Yes, they should encourage the student without overwhelming them will all the work
15 People
50%
Yes, but it’s good preparation for college
10 People
30%
No, there isn’t any pressure
5 People
20%

Articles about students that have commit suicide because of so much pressure:
a. About 40 students commit suicide every year because of pressure during examinations

Stress levels with high amounts of work
b. One in every five high school students are constantly stressed due to too much work
c. Movie- “Race to Nowhere” is a film about the high stress levels students are faced with at school everyday
d. Most school districts have now came up with the fair rule that each class should give out a reasonable amount of half an hour of homework, no more than that, in order for students to be less stressed about high amounts of work, and to give students some free time for themselves.

2. Ideas for how I can change this/inform adults and teachers about this problem:
Poster
a. At first I had the idea to make a few posters and hang them up around the school while parents and teachers are at the Parent Teacher Conferences, however I decided against that because of the fact that posters are not effective at getting my point across.
Pamphlets
b. I decided to make pamphlets with information about how putting too much pressure on students can harm their health and give these out at the ice rink I go to, because there are children and adults.

3. Pamphlet designs
Results or Discussion
I believe that most of the sources from which I got my information/research is reliable, and very helpful for completing my project. I also believe that I could have found more, and better facts to put into the pamphlets and made them look a bit better. I have not printed out or handed out any of the pamphlets therefore I do not know what the turnout is, however I hope that teachers and parents will realize how much pressure they are putting on their students/children and how stressed these people are. I hope that in the future there will be a less stressful way for students to learn and a way to encourage students to do well, and not put too much pressure on them in doing so.

Conclusion
In conclusion, students should try their best in school and try to get the best grades as possible, however if the student gets a lower grade, parents and teachers must not make the student feel bad, but encourage them to do better by offering help and understanding what went wrong so that the student received this grade.
By putting so much pressure on teenagers to do well in school, the students will feel as if they are under constant stress and suffer with their grades, and negative physical effects. Some signs you may see if your student or child is under stress are:
Headaches, stomach-aches, and not wanting to go to school
Insomnia, or sleeping too much or too little
Depression (purposely cutting themselves, putting themselves down)
Eating more or less
Procrastination
Not having a social life

If you think that your child/student is not doing as well in school or if you sense that they are under too much stress, take them aside and reassure them that they can do well and figure out ways for that person to be able to cope with this stress.
Don’t pressure your student or child too much because it could lead to negative effects in that person’s health.

Bibliography

Pino, Amy. "Teenage Stress." Teen Life RSS. Sonoma Academy, 18 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

Bhattarai, Abha. "Post User Polls: Are Parents and Teachers Putting Too Much Pressure on Teenagers? - Abha Bhattarai." The Washington Post. N.p., 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

Trudeau, Michelle. "School, Study, SATs: No Wonder Teens Are Stressed." NPR. NPR, 09 Oct. 2006. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

"Wide Open Education." BachelorsDegreeOnlinecom. N.p., 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

Singh, Sumit Kumar. "Stress Drives 40 Students to Suicide Every Year." Deccan Herald. DHNS, 3 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

"1 in 5 Undergrads Is Constantly Stressed." Msnbc.com. Associated Press, 18 Mar. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

Feature, Katherine KamWebMD. "School Stress Management: Homework, Over-Scheduling, Sleep, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

"Stress Symptoms, Signs and Causes." Stress Symptoms, Signs & Causes: Effects of Stress Overload. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .

Bibliography: Pino, Amy. "Teenage Stress." Teen Life RSS. Sonoma Academy, 18 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . Bhattarai, Abha. "Post User Polls: Are Parents and Teachers Putting Too Much Pressure on Teenagers? - Abha Bhattarai." The Washington Post. N.p., 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . Trudeau, Michelle. "School, Study, SATs: No Wonder Teens Are Stressed." NPR. NPR, 09 Oct. 2006. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . "Wide Open Education." BachelorsDegreeOnlinecom. N.p., 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . Singh, Sumit Kumar. "Stress Drives 40 Students to Suicide Every Year." Deccan Herald. DHNS, 3 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . "1 in 5 Undergrads Is Constantly Stressed." Msnbc.com. Associated Press, 18 Mar. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . Feature, Katherine KamWebMD. "School Stress Management: Homework, Over-Scheduling, Sleep, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . "Stress Symptoms, Signs and Causes." Stress Symptoms, Signs & Causes: Effects of Stress Overload. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. .