Student Stress

Student Stresses
Today’s students are faced with many challenges, many additional pressures, and numerous stresses. High school creates a variety of difficulties and challenges for teens but on average their main stresses are schoolwork, personal problems and time consuming jobs. Teens find themselves under far too much pressure. Being a teenager is typically thought of as a fun and free time in life, but it’s turning into a stressful period in a person’s life. Most teens set a goal of doing well in school to achieve their dream job or just better themselves. Many classes feel short and quick, teachers buzz through topics and units faster than most can comprehend. Still, the teachers and parents expect you to be able to achieve high marks on tests and assignments. The work load is enormous. Every class you are expected to do an hour or two of homework every night and finding the time is close to impossible. Most programs at university expect a high 80 percent average. For some it comes easy, others, a great challenge. Expectations from universities and parents can add more stress on to your already stressful school life. I personally feel as if school has gotten a lot harder since our parents attended. Since they had a grade 13, an extra year to prepare and learn. This means that everything taught within five years is now squeezed into four. Learning at a quicker pace is a lot more difficult than having an extra year. High school impacts a student’s life for the rest of their educational path. Along with many hours at school, most students have a part time job to attend right after school. Work conflicts with school and the work load. I personally have a part time job and after working 5-6 hours after school, homework is the last thing on my mind. Many teens get jobs to gain independence from their parents and stand on their own financially. However there is also the reality of funding post-secondary education. University tuitions are expensive and have been rising throughout the years. Some the dream of university is all based around grades but the finances too. Saving up and working hard at school is extremely stressful and hard to find a balance between school, work and a social life. Students need time to relax and sometimes that’s hard to find. I get extremely stressed whenever I have work and even the smallest amount of homework, so I can only imagine how it is for grade twelve working all the time with huge amounts of homework. Working as a teenager is stressful and adding homework on top of that can be unbelievable.
Personal problems are a reality for almost everyone. But for teenagers it’s harder to handle due to social media, bullying and parents. Social media has been a huge toll on many of my friends. The drama that surrounds social media can be tolling on a student’s concentration. Privacy is a thing of a past with almost every personal problem now being slew on social media sights. This has happened to everyone at some point in high school, either being bullied on or off social media. Even if it’s not in school, family stresses can dramatically impact your day or your attentiveness in and out of school. High school is stressful from the start, but the stress accumulates as the years go on. Students have to deal with school, part time jobs, and personal problems. It is important that students be able to recognize this stress and deal with it before it becomes overwhelming.