Pulling off all-nighters to get assignments done. Taking community college classes just to raise one’s GPA. Enrolling in mostly AP (Advanced Placement)/Honors classes for most of high school. These are the stark and painful realities for students at my high school and many others all across the US and even the world. If school responsibilities --namely classwork, homework, and studying for tests-- were the only responsibilities of the students at my school, I think there would be less of a reason to see academics as an issue and menace to their mental health. However, school responsibilities are not the only things students need to take care of. Many students have home responsibilities as well, such as taking care of their siblings, doing the laundry, and cleaning, and the competitive atmospheres at many high schools also encourage everyone to do as many extracurricular activities as possible.
Image Source: Compass Homeschool Classes
The way I see it, there are a couple of larger issues at play that are causing the prioritization of tests, assignments, and grades over mental health. First and foremost, I blame peer pressure. It’s the feeling that if you don’t take that AP class, if you don’t add that 1 Honors class to your schedule, you’ll be looked down upon by your peers. These feelings are a natural cause of many students adding more to their course loads than they can realistically, or at least healthily, manage. I, for one, was seriously struggling this past summer leading up to my junior year over whether to substitute my Honors Precalculus class for the AP Calculus AB class offered at my school despite having 5 other AP classes already in my schedule. I tried multiple times to deny that I was being pressured by my peers, but in the back of my mind, I knew that I was struggling with this decision because I’d heard that one of my friends was taking the AP math course. Although I ended up choosing the Honors class, I’d be lying if I don’t feel somehow dumb when I talk to my friend about the math courses we’re taking. And I know that this feeling I have is wrong. The issue is, I always try to justify my sense of feeling inferior by having thoughts like, “I’m taking this harder course that my friend is missing out on,” and “I’m taking 1 more college class than him.” But this is exactly the problem. Thinking that I should take an AP class over the Honors class --or even take the Honors class to begin with-- just because of my peers only makes me feel insecure and doesn’t do any good for anyone. It only creates a huge toll on my mental health.
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A second cause is parental pressure. All parents naturally want their children to succeed. However, it’s very important that parents recognize that there is a fine line between healthy pushing of their children academically and causing them undue amounts of stress and heaping burdens on them. I have faced large amounts of academic pushing by my parents at times, for school grades and tests like the SAT, and it’s made me feel really stressed and extremely anxious by making me obsessively think about my grades.
Thirdly, college admissions. I do recognize that there needs to be some way of deciding what students go to what colleges. But lately and more frequently, I’ve observed students putting their peers down in the belief that they’re gaining an advantage in the admissions process and boasting about their resumes on various Internet forums. Many colleges have also been actively encouraging all students to take AP/Honors courses to boost their applications despite it simply not being right for everyone. All of these things have contributed to an enormous mental health toll on students.
Caption: The logo of a toxic subreddit centered on college admissions
Image Source: Reddit
Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t see the merit in AP classes, Honors classes, or anything like that. They were created to offer a greater academic challenge. I take these sorts of classes for this reason. I don’t mean that college admissions should be a breeze either. A toxic culture and environment has clearly grown around it, though. The problem is that so many students are not putting their mental health first and in a misguided mindset, valuing academics even more.
My advice for you? Please, please, please don’t compare yourself to others because this is where a lot of that unhealthy prioritization of academics stems from. Know your worth. I realize from personal experience that this achieves absolutely nothing and just hurts you in the end. Instead, use the time you spend comparing yourself to someone else for investing yourself into things you enjoy and things that are more productive. Everyone is different. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You are your own person, and you are capable of great things if you set your mind to it. Say this to yourself every day if you have to because I and many others believe in you.
It’s also important to have a growth mindset. A bad grade is not a reason to feel horrible about yourself; it just signals that you just have some more reviewing to do. Use bad grades as stepping stones to better grades. Your classmates and parents also won’t remember test scores and classes you got and took in a matter of even just a couple of years.
In conclusion, for yourself and those who care about you, be sure to put your mental health first. There’s nothing --I repeat, nothing-- more important than that. There are some pressures that are going to make you want to do otherwise, but if you know your worth and focus on your growth, you can beat them back.
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