Communities of Stress: How High Schoolers Experience Academic Anxiety in Schools

Students experience stress at unprecedented levels, as they face mounting academic and social expectations in today’s schools. College admissions processes are increasingly challenging, homework grows more demanding, extracurricular activities are more impressive, and social expectations are higher. High schoolers feel overwhelmed and distressed as they attempt to fulfill unattainable hopes of perfectionism (Shaunessey & Suldo, 2010). Anxiety and depression diagnoses rise as stressors for teens increase, converging with a lack of awareness and resources for students. “Pressure cooker communities” have emerged, as high performing schools with incredible performance anxiety collide with external and internal pressure for success (Feld & Shusterman, 2015). Suburbs like Lexington, MA, Colorado Springs, CO, and Palo Alto, CA face the daunting task of reducing academic anxiety in students, as spiraling depression rates and tragic instances of suicide mar their standing. While these affluent communities are seemingly beacons of opportunity and achievement, there is a permeating sense of despondency as students feel inadequate. The problem faced by high-achieving high school students is how they are unable to mitigate their stress levels as they navigate academic work and college preparation.

While these issues seem overwhelming, there are several interventions that educators can employ to help reduce stress in classrooms. Community stakeholders can help disrupt the pattern of anxiety in high school students by celebrating all achievements, offering resources and support, and leveraging relationships. Teachers too often only recognize academic excellence and competition. Celebrate student successes in the arts, writing, theater and sports. Schools need to provide resources and support to students to model coping behaviors and promote mental health awareness. Finally, relationships can have a profound impact on how students feel about school and themselves. Teachers must cultivate these connections with learners so that their confidence can develop.

As educators, we legitimize and reaffirm the behaviors and emotions of our students. It is imperative that we use this role as a platform to discuss mental health and positive coping mechanisms. These are learned behaviors that need to be reinforced with students, so that they may practice self-care and stress reduction techniques.

Taylor Campbell is a graduate student at Boston University, in the Curriculum and Teaching Program at the School of Education. Most recently, she taught middle school Spanish at a Title 1 school in Charlotte, NC. Previously, she received her Bachelor’s degree in History and Spanish, with a minor in secondary education from Stonehill College. Ms. Campbell hopes to return to the classroom as a high school history or Spanish teacher for the 2018-2019 school year.

References

Feld, L.D. & Shusterman, A. (2015). Into the pressure cooker: Student stress in college preparatory high schools. Journal of Adolescence, 41, 31-42. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j/adolescence.2015.02.003

Shaunessey, E. & Suldo, S.M. (2010). Strategies used by intellectual gifted students to cope with stress during their participation in a high school international baccalaureate program. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(2), 127-137. doi: 10.1177/0016986209355977