Stress in School 1

Stress in School:

How it Affects Students

Mia Scalia

Passion Project

Mr. Deckenbach

November 21, 2016

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Introduction to Stress in Schools

Experiencing stress in school has become as prevalent as catching a common cold. A

survey by Cornelia van Jaarsveld, a professor at The University College of London (2009) shows

that 50% of students place school as their number one cause of stress, topping even family

issues and disputes with friends (p. 1). So what is causing all this stress? Schools today have

shifted their curriculum to focus on getting kids into college and boosting standardized test

scores. According to Moriah Balingit (2016), a researcher for the Washington Post:

Kindergarten, where children were once encouraged to play and adjust to the rhythms of

the school day, has long been evolving. But many parents new to modern-day elementary

schooling say they have been shocked to find their children in a pressure cooker of

rigorous academics, standardized tests, homework and what seem like outrageous

expectations. (Balingit, 2016, p.1)

High school students are also faced with outrageous expectations in the classroom. However,

unlike kindergarteners, high school students must also maintain a high grade point average and

juggle other activities such as extracurriculars and sports. Although some stress is expected and

even healthy, the levels of it today are skyrocketing. Extreme stress levels are are affecting

students' education and therefore need to be drastically reduced.

Evidence of Stress In Schools

Stress in schools is a serious issue which has become increasingly evident as districts

across the nation continue to increase academic rigor. Stress is the state of mental or emotional

strain resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. These demands trigger the

nervous system to release hormones that have serious mental and physical effects on the body.
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This emotion becomes evident in school when a student feels so overwhelmed with a

workload that they become affected, whether it's in performance, health, or happiness. Today,

research shows that some stress is necessary to push students and create a motivated learning

environment, however it becomes distress when students never find any relief or break from

the intense demands of school. As a result students can feel like they are going to be stressed

out forever and build up tension throughout their body (Goldberg, 2016, p. 1). Students

feeling as if they are going to be "stressed out forever due to their schools workload shows

how academics today are causing too much of a burden in the lives of children. Additionally,

Seventy-five percent to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and

complaints (Goldberg, 2016, p. 1). A number of medical appointments this large all focused

on one issue clearly indicates an area in need of more attention. Additionally, needing to go to

the doctor for an ailment related to stress shows how the implications of this issue are

becoming extremely severe.

Furthermore, evidence of the problem today is displayed through surveys and reports of

teens themselves. In a survey done on students across the country, researchers found:

Teens report that their stress level during the school year far exceeds what they believe

to be healthy and tops adults average reported stress levels (5.8 for teens versus 5.1

for adults). Many teens also report feeling overwhelmed and depressed or sad as a

result of stress. More than one-third of teens report fatigue or feeling tired and nearly

one-quarter of teens report skipping a meal due to stress. (Bethune, 2014, para. 3)

No teenage child should ever be more stressed out than a working adult who is responsible for

making a living and maybe even taking care of a family. The results of this survey illustrate the

out of control levels that school stress is reaching. Saying that this number far exceeds what is
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believed to be healthy shows how kids are being impacted not only mentally but also in their

physical health. Similarly, a study done at Stanford University adds that children in privileged,

high performing schools have on average 3 hours of homework a night. Research also found that

this homework is counterproductive and a main stressor for 56% of kids (Parker, 2014, para. 6-

5). The 56% of kids who are stressed out represent the majority, confirming that this issue is

touching the lives of all students. As well, three hours of homework a night leaves no room for

other activities, and leads children to isolate themselves from friends and family. Overall, strain

on students is a problem that is clearly evident and affecting kids all over the country.

How Stress Affects Students

As a result of the stress present in classrooms, the behavior and performance of students

is significantly affected. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study about how learning

is affected in schools. It stated, These findings suggest that stress negatively affects the way

children pay attention in class, stay on task, and are able to move from one activity to another

(Strauss, 2011, para. 5). This research shows that stress is not only present, but has a negative

impact on how the classroom functions. With students not being able to pay attention in class,

stay on task, or move from one activity to another, the learning environment becomes

compromised and students therefore sacrifice being able to learn to the best of their ability. Not

only does it affect the classroom environment, but also the performance of the children within it.

A recent survey displays, As stress begins to be perceived as overwhelming or excessive, the

person reaches a fatigue point wherein the performance levels starts to decline. The ultimate end

of overwhelming stress, called burnout, can be exhaustion, ill-health or breakdown (Nixon,

1979, para. 4). Stating that when stress becomes excessive, performance levels start to decline

demonstrates how stress on students negatively affects their achievement. The exhaustion and ill
 Stress in School 5

health also contribute to the students lack of ability to sit in school for 6 hours a day and function

up to the standards of someone in good health. It is necessary to reduce the stress in schools in

order to create a productive learning environment and boost the achievements of children.

Actions to Combat Stress

Today there has been little action to combat stress in schools because it was not a

problem in the past and has only recently appeared. In order to change this lack of action,

districts can implement animal therapy in order to reduce stress and provide students with the

safe learning environment needed to succeed.

According to an article written by Karen Allen, Barbara E. Shykoff and Joseph L. Izzo,

writers for the Hypertension Medicine and Science Journal (2001), Increased social support

through pet ownership lowers blood pressure response to mental stress (para. 1). The

conclusion that pet ownership reduces mental stress could be used in schools by implementing

animal therapy so that the students are able to experience the lower blood pressure caused by

the animals. This lower blood pressure response to stress, would calm students down for tests,

quizzes, speeches and other nerve-wracking school endeavors. Additionally, Pet ownership,

or just being in the presence of a companion animal, is associated with health benefits,

including improvements in mental, social, and physiologic health status (Friedmann, 2008,

para. 1). As seen earlier, stress in school is damaging to the areas (mental, social and

physiologic) that pet ownership is seen to cure. Implementing animal therapy would make it

so schools could enhance students health rather than hurt it. Allowing students to take a

portion of their day to play with animals creates the necessary feeling of owning a pet and

would therefore bring along the benefits. Additionally, Touch and movement are two healthy

ways to quickly manage stress. Stroking a dog lowers blood pressure and can help you
 Stress in School 6

quickly feel calmer and less stressed (Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal, 2016, Para. 12).

Touch, movement, and stroking a dog could all be incorporated into a typical school day if

animal therapy was implemented. These practices which help you quickly feel calmer and

less stressed, would clearly benefit the students; increasing their happiness and performance

which in turn would reflect better upon the school's reputation. Furthermore, There is

growing interest across a range of disciplines in the relationship between pets and health, with

a range of therapeutic, physiological, psychological and psychosocial benefits now

documented (Wood, Giles-Corti & Bulsara, 2005, para. 1). Stress is placed into the

psychosocial category and therefore would be included in the health benefits linked to pets.

Providing a place where students would have access to animals during the school day would

allow children's health to be increased and stress to be reduced, thus achieving the goal of the

the therapy. Moreover, the incorporation of therapeutic animals into schools will reduce stress,

solving the issue for many districts across the country.

Conclusion

Overall three things are evident. Number one, stress is clearly an issue that is

applicable to students all over the nation. Number two, stress negatively affects how children

function and number three, stress can be decreased by implementing animal therapy. If stress is

effectively reduced, schools all over the nation would have happier, healthier, and brighter

students. Action can be taken not only by superintendents and administrators but also teachers

and parents within the community. By working together, this issue can be managed and will shift

from as common as a cold to as rare as a flawless diamond.

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