By: Lane Pope
At high schools across the nation, the pressure to succeed is so constant that getting through the day can feel like an achievement in itself. There is a never-ending to-do list: activities, homework, testing. And then there are the expectations! Do we even have time to be kids anymore? Schools are putting way too much pressure on students these days, which is taking a toll on their mental health.
Adolescents in the U.S. are struggling with high levels of anxiety and depression. Recent surveys continue to document that approximately one-third of middle and high school students report significant symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, or persistent poor mental health. These feelings can have a considerable impact on a student’s feelings of happiness and school performance, as well as lead to dangers associated with substance abuse and eating and sleep disorders.
Excelling in high school should not come at the cost of our well-being. Most nights, I don’t get anywhere near the amount of rest a teenager needs. I come home from field hockey practice and still have hours of homework ahead. Between long hours of studying, piles of homework, and sometimes even late-night sporting events, it’s hard to get the eight hours of sleep that experts recommend. Just last week, my friend told me she was up till 4 a.m. working on homework and then woke up to her alarm at 6:45 a.m. to study a little more. This required work ethic has been normalized — and this is unacceptable. Sleep deprivation leads to stress, exhaustion, and worsening mental health, yet it is daily life for many students.
The expectation is for each student to strive to be the best in everything they do, whether it’s achieving top grades or being the absolute best in their sport. The pressure to outperform everyone else creates an environment where students feel on edge in their own school. This competitive culture might look like genuine “hard work” to anyone outside the school, but in reality, it is overwhelming, and we students don’t have a choice. This constant expectation is leaving students feeling burned out.
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It is my experience that the adults in our lives believe the rigor will prepare us for success in the real world and college. To graduate is expected, but the greater expectation is for students to attend “top” colleges. While preparation for the future is important, the intense pressure placed on students often does more harm than good. However, when educators and parents focus on helping students develop coping strategies, they enable young people to manage stress more effectively and foster long-term emotional well-being.
For a start, it would help if our community had a clearer shared understanding of the level of stress experienced by students. This new insight could be the basis for continued honest dialog between groups of students and adults. Discussion around what it means to be excellent has the potential to reshape school culture into one that encourages a healthy balance between performance and wellness. A school’s culture is a powerful force that can reduce the sense of stress and anxiety in students.
The pressure to achieve has gone too far. Schools must listen to us as young adults and make real changes. Our mental health as 15-to 18-year-old teens matters just as much if not more than our grades. We need to build a safe and less pressured environment where students can grow without the never-ending stress they report feeling today. A school system should measure success not only by grades and awards but also by the mental and emotional health of its students. Real success begins when students feel supported and understood.
Lane Pope is a junior at Highland Park High School and a field hockey player. Her piece is one in a series from students in the Moody Advanced Professional Studies modern media course. Visit peoplenewspapers.com to read ‘School Is Hard Enough; Try It Hungry’ by junior Noah Santoyo, which appeared in Park Cities People’s December issue.
