Academic achievements have always been seen as the ultimate goal for students, which comes with limitless pressure to excel. Academics have always been hard for most students, but the pressure is more difficult to handle. Pressure caused by education may impact students in both their personal and educational lives.
According to Lebanon Valley College, “Stress is an inevitable part of higher education—but it becomes harmful when it stops being occasional and becomes a relentless cycle.” When all students worry about is achieving more and more, it results in constant restlessness. The negative effects of this include stress, anxiety, and sleep deprivation, which can lead to burnout. Putting too much pressure on themselves to reach beyond, or even just hold on, severely impacts students.
Overwhelming pressure causes both mental and physical health issues. According to Sophia Pelayo, a freshman at Armijo High School, “Staying up worrying can affect my sleep, yes.” The stress of pushing yourself to achieve good grades, turning work in on time, and going above and beyond can truly lead to physical health problems. A significant lack of sleep can lead to exhaustion and the feeling that you just can’t focus.
Not only physical problems, but it may also affect your mental state and reduce your self-esteem. The loss of self-esteem may hinder your social life as well. This can also be seen when effort is no longer being put into activities so you can push it all towards excelling. Achieving more academically is always great, but when you push yourself too hard, it won’t always do justice to yourself.
Students with accelerated classes might find academic stress more difficult than students who are not enrolled in those classes. According to a freshman at Armijo High School, Camila Orozco, “Being in the IB program comes with more work and more projects that are more difficult than the regular classwork. The teachers also don’t give as much time to complete the assignments.” The students taking these classes can pile on more things to stress over, since they have more things to worry about. The hours that are put into these classes will benefit you, but they might also come with more stress than most classes.
Depending on the student, some people take the stress with them outside of school. According to Sophia Pelayo, freshman at Armijo High School, “Stress doesn’t usually follow me outside of my studies, but I know people who don’t let go of the stress, even when not in school.” Stress is bound to affect students with schoolwork. It may not always be such a bad thing, but it may push students to try their hardest before calling it quits on their responsibilities.
Although the pressure of schoolwork may come with negative effects that are undeniable, it may not be so awful. A certain bit of stress can indeed benefit growth and achievement; It may help students see their potential, overcoming academic hardship to pursue their own set of skills. When stress and pressure are managed beneficially, they can contribute greatly to a student’s mind and mental state in a powerful and truly effective way.
