By Allison Lu,
Staff Writer Editor
Stacks of textbooks and loose-leaf paper surround students as they struggle to find a starting place to begin their assignments. The thought of more work to do the next day doesn’t help to alleviate the stress shown in the students’ hunched postures and baggy eyes. Glancing at the time, they find that in just a few hours, the first bell will ring, signifying the start of another long day.
The gripping academic competitive culture pressures students to pile on more advanced courses than they can handle while balancing their extracurricular activities. Instead of fixating on getting better grades than their peers, students should focus on their academic growth and maturing their own skillset.
The unconscious desire to be on the same level as their peers forces students to create unrealistic high achieving standards. Their classmates’ humble bragging influences students to believe their work ethic is not on par with other, more talented individuals.
Complacency with academic validation encourages reliance on praise from their peers, and as such, students feel they must reach the expectations others set on them. Yet when students do not succeed in these goals, they become critical of themselves and their study habits. This affects their self-esteem and causes students to doubt their capabilities in being able to effectively finish their work.
By spending hours working on one assignment and trying to reach a level of perfectionism they believe will satisfy their teacher’s demand, students end up neglecting their ailing mental health when they’re constantly reaching for more. According to Research.com, an estimated 75% of high schoolers in America claimed their mental health declined as a result of stress from school work, with the pressure to maintain good grades a leading factor in this waning health.
Taking care of their wellbeing limits the stress students get from their day-to-day lives. Changes like exercising regularly and taking breaks between activities create a mentality that relieves students from feeling overwhelmed. The National Institute of Mental Health also recommends meditation and journaling as other forms of self care.
Academic growth comes from experience; in order to cultivate their talents, students need to set a healthy work-life balance. This creates an environment where students can prioritize their needs and still be able to effectively do their work. Improving mental health also boosts students’ self confidence, which in turn increases the perception of their self-worth.
When students compare their academic achievements with one another, they unintentionally form an underachieving mentality. This causes them to believe that they’ll never be good enough; their work ethic drops and they begin to procrastinate, losing the motivation to finish their work.
Focusing on what their own strengths are helps students get out of the mindset that their accomplishments define their self worth. While this may seem like a daunting task, recognizing no one is an exact copy of someone else enforces the belief that everyone is their own person. Their talent might not lie in the same subject as their peers, but that does not make them any less competent in their work.
Overcoming the influence of this competitive culture is the first step in developing a growth mindset. When the last bell rings, students should be able to go home with the assurance that they don’t have to be as good as their peers to be good enough.