RunningHead:Stress:TheCommon

Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers
CarolineGreineder
EastGreenwichHighSchool


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers2

Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers
Sittinginclass,hearingaboutthenextfewassignmentsandfeelinganuncomfortable
sensationinthestomach.Thefirstthingthatmanywillthinkaboutistheamountofstressthey
arefeeling.Why?Becausestressisamajorpartofoursocietytoday.Manypeople,especially
highschoolstudents,havealongtodolistwhichcanoftenleadtostress.Whilesomemay
contendthatthereisnottoomuchstressontoday'shighschoolers,itisinfactevidentthathigh
schoolstudentscanbetoostressedduetotheiracademiccourseloadsandextracurricular
activities,anditisclearthatitcantakeatollonstudents.
Stressisamentalhealthconcernthatmanypeopleareawareof.Unfortunately,this
anxietyisconstantlyimpactingstudents.AccordingtoanNPRpollthroughtheHarvardSchool
ofPublicHealthandRobertWoodJohnsonFoundation,nearlyhalfofparentsreportthatschool
iscausingtheirstudentsstress(Neighmond,2013).Ontopoffeelingstressedaboutschool,
manyteenagersplaysportsortakepartinextracurricularactivities.Whileitisimportanttostay
activeandnothaveyourlifefullycenteredaroundschool,thiscanalsoaddfeelingsofworryto
manyhighschoolerslives.Inagreementwiththis,isEdithBedollaahighschoolstudentwho
states,
Schoolisalreadystressfulenough,wehavetoworryaboutkeepingagoodGPA,not
falling
behind,andalso,beinginextracurricularactivities.Afterschoolwehavesports,after
sportswehavetocomehometodoourhomework,andoncedonewiththat,youwill
mostlikelyenduphelpingaroundthehouse.Youdontreallyhavetimetorelaxwithout


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers3

havingtoworrythatthere'sapaperduethenextday,orthatyouhaveanexamthat
determinesifyouregoingtopasstheclassornot(Mendez).
Studentsarefeelingstressedfromallaspectsofschool,aswellastheactivitiestheyparticipate
inafterschool.Whilemanypeopleattempttosetasidetimeforthemselvesduetotheamountof
worktheyhave,manyareunabletorelaxwithoutworrying.Extracurricularactivitiesare
supposedtohavetheoppositeeffect:relievingstress.
Whilestresscancomefromformalschoolwork,manyhighschoolstudentsarefeeling
stressedthinkingabouttheirplansforthefuture.Throughoutthecourseofthefouryearsinhigh
school,manystudentsarepreparingforcollegeapplicationsandtakingstandardizedtests.
AccordingtoTomPoulisaboythatwasquotedonSchool,Study,SATS,Peoplearealways
tellingyou,Applyhere.AndwhenareyougoingtotakeyourSATS?AndontopofthatIm
takingfourAPclasses.Soalready,thestressisveryhigh.Thishighschoolstudentisdealing
withthecollegeprocessontopofhisacademiccourseloadandisexpressingthatthisprocess
canaddmorepressure.Inadditiontohavingtotakestandardizedtests,studentsalsowanttoearn
ahighGradePointAverage.AccordingtoNeighmond,WhenhighschooljuniorNoraHuynh
gotherreportcard,shewasdevastatedtoseethatshedidntgetaperfect4.0.Thisisdisplaying
thatNoraisputtingagreatamountofpressureonherselftogetgoodgrades,whichresultsinher
andmanyotherstudentsfeelingupsetwhenitdoesntoccur.Forstudentsthatattendahigh
performingschool,NYUStudyExaminesexplainthat,Weareconcernedthatstudentsin
theseselective,highpressurehighschoolscangetburnedoutevenbeforetheyreachhigh
school.Thisdisplaysthatevencollegesareworriedthatstudentsthatareworkingtoohard
duringhighschoolmaynothaveanymotivationtocontinuetohighereducation.Thispressure


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers4

notonlycomesfromastudentsacademicworkload,howeveritisalsoaresultofcollege
applications,andstrivingtoreachperfection.
Havingtoomuchstresscancomewithmanydrawbacks,anditcanimpactstudentsin
manydifferentways.AccordingtoaninterviewwithMarkBrackett,aresearcheratYale
UniversityanddirectorofYaleCenterforEmotionalIntelligence,manystudentsarehaving
difficultypayingattentioninclassduetotheamountofstressthattheirbodiesarefeeling
(Toppo,2015).Thisshowsthatstudentsaretensewhichinreturncanleadtothemhaving
difficultydirectingtheirfullattentiontowhatisoccurringintheclassroom.Studentsarein
schooltolearn,however,whentheirmindisoccupiedbyonehundredotherthingsheorshemay
beunabletounderstandwhatisbeingtaughtinschool.Manystudentsareseeingphysical
impacts.

Achildmedicinespecialistatteststhat,hehashadmanypatientsthatsufferfrom
headaches,paininthechest,andstomachaches,andoftenitisaresultofstress

(
School,Study,SATS
,2006).Notonlydoesitcausephysicalharm,unfortunatelyaccordingto
School,Study,SATS,AttheextremeandIwanttoemphasizethatthisistheextreme
wereseeingmorekidswhoareengaginginselfmutilation,Ginsburgsays.[Its]awayof
takingcontrolovertheirlifewhentheyfeeltheirlifeisoutofcontrol.Itsdevastatingthat
studentsareexperiencingsuchextremestress,thusleadingthemtophysicallyharmthemselves.
Ifstressisimpactingstudentsphysically,andintheclassroom,itisnecessarythatsomething
changes.
Whilethereisagreatamountofresearchtosupportthenegativelevelsofstressinhigh
schoolstudents,somerefusetobelieveinthesenegativeimpacts,whileothersignorethisstress
entirely.AccordingtoMaryAlvord,aclinicalpsychologist,alittlestressandinmoderationcan


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers5

behelpfultohighschoolersinsomanyways.Itmotivatesthemtostudy,todobetter(Ossola,
2015).InfurtherdenialofthisstressisRebeccaHoffman,ManagingEditorofWestBrook
Times,whoclaimsthatmoststudentsspeedthroughtheirworkwithoutspendingqualitytime
eachnightonhomework.Sheevenarguesthatthemajorityofhighschoolstudentssaythey
neverorveryrarelystudy(Hoffmann,2014).Whiletheseargumentsaremattersofopinion,
theydonotupholdwhencomparedtofacts.AccordingtotheannualAmericanPsychological
Associationsurvey,teensroutinelysaythattheirschoolyearstresslevelsarefarhigherthan
theythinkishealthyandtheiraveragereportedstressexceedsthatofadults(Aleccia,2014).In
contrasttothebeliefthatthesehighschoolstudentsspeedthroughtheirhomework,theNational
PTAandNationalEducationAssociationrecommends10minutesofhomeworkpergradelevel
pernight,foranythingmoremaybecounterproductive.Infact,thissamesurveyfoundthaton
averageteensarespendingonethirdoftheirstudytimefeelingstressed,anxious,orstuck
(Ginsberg).Whilesomeoverlookthisstress,orargueitasanecessity,itisevidentthatthe
negativeoutcomesoutweightheslightpositiveimpacts,andthattheseteenagersdoinfactfeel
them.
Today,asaparent,student,orteacher,thereisamajorconcernthatmanyhigh
schoolersareoverlystressed.Whilesomemaythinkthatthisisnotthecase,itisclearthatthey
dohavetoomuchstressduetoacademicsandextracurriculars,anditisevidentthatthiscan
impactthemnegatively.Mostteenagersareimpactedbytheiracademicsandcollege
applications.Manyofthesestudentsthatfeelstressedarealsoinvolvedinextracurricular
activitieswhichcanleadtomorestressduetothetimecommitmentandbusyscheduling.
Unfortunately,muchofthisstressleadstostudentshavingphysicaldifficultiesandfailingtobe


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers6

attentiveinclass.Studentsaretoostressedduringthetimethattheyareinhighschool.Teachers
andparentsshouldsupportstudentsbyactivelyhelpingthemwithcopingstrategies,and
collaboratingwiththemtodiscoveraplantocompletethework.


Stress:TheCommonThoughtForHighSchoolers7

References

Aleccia,J.(2014,February11).TeensMoreStressedOutThanAdults,SurveyShowsNBC
News.RetrievedMay22,2016,from
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kidshealth/teensmorestressedoutadultssurveysh
Wsn26921

Ginsberg,M.(n.d.).HomeworkWars:HighSchoolWorkloads,StudentStress,andHowParents
CanHelp.RetrievedMay22,2016,from
http://www.princetonreview.com/collegeadvice/homeworkwars

Hoffmann,R.(2014,November18).DoesHighSchoolPrepareYouForCollege?Retrieved
May
22,2016,from
http://www.westbrooktimes.com/opinion/2014/11/18/doeshighschoolpreapreyoufor
ollege/

Mendez,F.(n.d.).Stressed,Depressed,buthighGPA.RetrievedMay15,2016,from
http://thedailyroar.net/2015/02/02/stresseddepressedbuthighgpa/

Neighmond,P.(2013,December2).SchoolStressTakesATollOnHealth,TeensAndParents
Say.RetrievedMay11,2016,from
http://www.npr.org/sections/healthshots/2013/12/02/246599742/schoolstresstakesatol
lonhealthteensandparentssay

NYUStudyExaminesTopHighSchoolStudents'StressandCopingMechanisms.(2015,
August
11).RetrievedMay12,2016,from
https://www.nyu.edu/about/newspublications/news/2015/08/11/nyustudyexaminestop
Highschoolstudentsstressandcopingmechanisms.html

Ossola,A.(2015,October9).HighStressHighSchool.RetrievedMay22,2016,from
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/highstresshighschool/409735/

School,Study,SATs:NoWonderTeensAreStressed.(2006,October9).RetrievedMay11,
2016,from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6221872

Toppo,U.G.(2015).Ourhighschoolkids:Tired,stressedandbored.RetrievedMay17,2016,
From
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/10/23/surveystudentstiredstressedb
ored/74412782/