What does the school system do to help teens that struggle with their academics along with their mental health?

Going through the day as high school students, we tend to have many thoughts filled in our heads. Whether it be what we want for lunch or how we have a 5-page essay due next period that we haven’t started. I think I can speak on behalf of many students that high schoolers certainly suffer from high levels of stress, with schedules stocked with school work, struggle, sports, extracurriculars, and more. It’s become common for students to begin to self-doubt as grades decline since they think their grades reflect their self-worth and knowledge. With this in mind, does academic achievement amongst high school students affect mental health and future performance? Yes, it does; having a balance between school life and schedules can be quite difficult for some students, especially when it comes to maintaining good grades.

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Grades are one of the biggest worries for most students. For students that tend to obsess over getting perfect grades, it's a massive stressor. When students are put under this pressure or expectation to maintain good grades by teachers or parents, they tend to put all their focus and energy in that one place. Flannery states that “By high school and college, many students have run out of steam. Anxiety—the mental-health tsunami of their generation—has caught up with them. Today’s teens and young adults are the most anxious ever, according to mental-health surveys." The build-up of stress and worries about grades and maintaining a social life while balancing outside schedules tend to affect students– normally negatively. Having to balance sports and maintaining good grades can be difficult for some students, especially students that can't find a balance between school and extracurricular activities such as sports and clubs. 

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If you really think about it, do students have any time for their outside life? Think about your average day as a student that plays sports or is in a club. The average school day is seven hours then right after school you have a practice or you're in a club, you stay at school for another two hours, and by the time you get home you're completely exhausted but you have a 5-page paper due the next day and a big test to study for and assignments that you've avoided so, you work on that for two to three hours and by the time you're done, do you have time for anything else? At that point, you aren’t playing sports, the day is playing you. The article, “Anxiety and Stress”, notes that, “Stress is the extent to which a person feels unable to cope with or manage certain pressures in their life. Stress is caused by external triggers including pressure related to the demands of school, work, and family.” The constant stress is building up for students that put their grades over their mental health.

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When it comes to the balance of social and school life, I think many students struggle with it, whether it be middle school students, high school students, and even college students. Then there are those students that struggle with doing both. We have all been in a place where we question if we should go hang out with friends or study for an important test. However, when assignments start piling up and it seems never-ending, and when grades seem to get bad that's when our mental health gets worse and even going out with friends we have this constant worry in our minds about the school, grades, and outside life. “The connection research shows that “Left unaddressed, students with mental health challenges can experience multiple negative outcomes in their young life, including trouble making friends, learning, concentrating, and completing work as well as poor grades, absences, suspension, expulsion, and suicide.” As soon as our mental health gets bad nothing else seems to be important. This constant fear of failure is racing through our minds. Having the stress and worry about the pressure to fit in or find friends also come into factor when figuring out school life and mental health because aside from doing well, we also have the feeling of pressure of making friends, keeping friendships, or relationships. Flannery states that “In the Pew survey of teens, academic pressure tops their list of stressors: 61 percent say they face a lot of pressure to get good grades. By comparison, 29 percent say they feel pressure to look good; 28 percent to fit in socially, and just 6 percent to drink alcohol.” This shows that there is so much more going on in students' minds. It can be quite stressful for students that have so much on their plate already. Even with all this the stress of meeting your parent's expectations. Parental expectations of kids can be quite high and this can cause so much stress for students. Sometimes when students aren't able to meet expectations they tend to blame themselves for it, and they feel like they aren't enough. This all traces back to mental health, the anxiety of not being good enough, and the fear of failing.

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In addition to all the stress we have, the college process is added. When it comes to applying for college students tend to be ten times more stressed. The stress of juggling school work and applying to college is stressful for students. The constant worry about getting into college is, alone, a huge worry for students. Fleming explains that “Some students who experience serious life challenges and interruptions face a harsh reality when it comes to applying to colleges and programs because many academic rewards and programs judge them on things like grades and test scores.” The fear of getting rejected by your top college is a huge worry for students that have put lots of work into their school. Most students in reality are not ready for rejection from their dream college. This plays a huge part in mental health and can affect a student immensely. Students work so hard their entire school to excel in their classes, even though they have a chance to be rejected from their chosen college. 

This can have an effect on students' mental health, only adding more stress and mental health issues to adolescents. With all the stress in mind, it is important to recognize the importance of taking care of your mental health and having a healthy balance between school life and one’s personal life. Raising awareness about this topic allows students to have a better understanding of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and parents to recognize their impact on their kids. Academic stress is a struggle for all students but having a social life is also essential for your well-being.