Imagine you come home from school one day, and realize that tomorrow you have two tests, an essay and project due, and tons of homework to get done. On top of that, you realize you have an extracurricular activity for two and a half hours after school. This harsh and rough situation is a reality for many middle school students, who struggle to balance the pressures of school, along with the pressure to do well in their sports/extracurricular activities. For many years, school pressure has been increasingly hard on high school students, but recently this pressure has been transferred on to children in middle school.
According to Mrs. Amanda Alicastro, a guidance counselor for eighth graders at Edison Intermediate School (EIS), students come to her a lot because of their stress from various issues they face from schoolwork. “Students come to me when they are stressed from anything that can cause stress. The top three reasons they come to me are because of stress from homework, stress in general, and stress from teachers. I would suggest working on time management and taking things one step at a time to help cope with stress.”
Tying into this, students are having to deal with more and more stress. Studies have shown how students feel about the stress they receive from various sources that may produce stress. “56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor” (News. Stanford. EDU).
Students take in loads of information everyday and are expected to retain it. When they are tested, they must put that knowledge to use and pass the test. Having multiple tests in one day makes students more and more stressed. Sebastian Gould, a sixth grader at EIS talks about how he has had a countless amount of tests in one day. “I have had four tests in one day, which was extremely hard to manage and very stressful.”
Many students think that their stress levels increase from homework, which can be extremely damaging for mental health. Students feel very strongly about having a minimal amount of homework, and they also think that too much homework can lead to counterproductivity. Elizabeth Chang, an eighth grader at EIS, said, “I think we have too much homework. It should be 30 minutes of work max per day, so students don’t have to be stressed.”
Along with stress from school, students also face stress from managing their time. When students have extracurricular activities and schoolwork to get done, they often feel stressed. When a student is overworked, it can lead to heightened stress, which is damaging for mental health, especially when illness is already present in a person. According to NEA.org, “According to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia. Too many enrichment activities can result in an ‘overscheduled’ student, and that can have adverse effects—namely heightened stress and anxiety.”
Adding onto the stress levels of homework, some students who attend EIS have had to skip important extracurriculars just because they had a lot of work to do at home. Children who are already stressed, but having to skip more of their activities will only cause more problems to their lives, because of missed activities. According to Sonja Berberich, a seventh grader at EIS, “I had a lot of assignments and studying for my math midterms and I had to skip swim.”
Student Assistant Counselor Ms. Mellissa Willson agrees that most of the students that come to her are stressed or worried about their workload. According to Ms.Wilson: “A lot of students who come to my office are mostly stressed. It’s a mix of tests, classwork, homework, managing all the things at school. One piece of advice I would give to stressed or overworked students would be to talk it out with friends, a counselor or a teacher or someone at home can give you a nice perspective from things that are overwhelming you. Everyone is different with the amount of classwork and homework. Stress levels are very different from 6th grade to 8th grade.”
When anyone is stressed, they need a way to cope and handle their anxiety. This means they need something or someone to help them deal with their primary stressors. Finding ways to cope with these many different stressors can help them reduce, even eliminate the amounts of stress they take in in one day. Students all around the world share their coping strategies to take away pressure from their lives. Sixth grader Sean McCormack uses many different methods to discard his stress. One way he uses coping methods to his advantage is taking quick breaks when he needs them. “I take a five minute break when I need to step away from something.”
Although some students, like sixth grader at EIS Arjun Verma, claim they don’t find most assignments or exams stressful, most students would disagree with this sentiment. “Most of the homework in middle school is too easy.”
According to a study published by The American Institute of Stress, 60% of students experience daily stress, and 75% of students report feeling stressed, angry or sad due to schoolwork. Students at EIS agree with these statistics, and they think that the workload for students has gotten out of hand.
In conclusion, dealing with stress is extremely important when it comes to being your best self. Students should learn to deal with stress and learn how to use skills such as time management in middle school. Taking breaks from activities that cause stress can help reduce stress in the long run. Many students struggle with the pressure that comes from keeping up with school work and extracurricular activities, which could lead to a harsh impact on students mental health.
